Pompous elitist Senators again tried to blame the energy fiasco on everybody but themselves.  It was wasn’t taken lying down.

"The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work,” said John Hofmeister (president of Shell) The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.

In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. ”I agree, it’s not a free market,” he said.

John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips, said Congress should enact a balanced energy policy. In addition to lifting the drilling ban, such a policy could include measures to encourage alternative energy sources, remove the ethanol tariff, promote energy conservation, cut regulations around refining.

NOTE: Refer to this piece for many more details.  The author should be given credit for having one of the few items of coverage that actually reflects the hearing!

Malcolm Hedges