(Host) Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce a bill to end excessive speculation in oil markets that he says has driven gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon.
Sanders says his office got complaints over the Memorial Day holiday about gas prices. Many wanted to know what Congress is doing to control them.
Sanders says the problem is not supply and demand but rather excessive speculation on the part of Wall Street in the oil futures market.
(Sanders) "These speculators do not use oil or what they own as an end product. They are not the airlines. They are not the trucking industry. They are not fuel oil dealers. Their sole function in life is to speculate to drive oil prices up and to make money."
(Host) The CEO of Exxon Mobil told a Senate committee last week that excessive speculation is causing oil prices to spike by 20 to 40 percent at the pump.
Sanders says his bill would regulate oil speculation, and he says he expects it to receive bipartisan support from colleagues across the country.
(Sanders) "There are rural states which have Republican senators and Republican House members, and I’m absolutely certain that constituents in those states are writing to their senators and their congress persons. They are experiencing the same problems: wages are going down, gas prices are going up, and they want action."
Sanders will introduce the bill next week.