09-07-07 by dugan
It’s good to have a Congress unafraid to throw facts in the face of misinformation. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and the staff of his Domestic Policy subcommittee today answered the Federal Trade Commission’s falsehoods on the "hot fuel" ripoff and challenged commission president Deborah Platt Majoras to explain where she got her un-facts.
Majoras, an attorney whose last job was representing Chevron, was at best careless in presenting scientific illiteracy as an argument against fixing the hot gasoline ripoff. Her opinion was in a letter requested by Rep. Darrell Issa of San Diego, who is well-funded by Big Oil (more than $63,000 since 2000) and other corporate interests. Majoras appears to have gotten her information from people with more opinions than sense.
The response by Kucinich is right to the point in showing how she understated the harm to consumers by more than 90%:
"As you have admitted in the fifth paragraph, the Commission has not conducted an investigation into the matters discussed in the letter. Unfortunately, in the absence of an investigation, [your] staff’s apparent misunderstanding of the issues led to a significant error in calculation. The magnitude of the effort puts into question the validity of many of the assertions and opinions expressed in the letter.
"You state that ‘a variation in temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit affects the volume of a typical 20 gallon tank by about 6 tablespoons.’ In a footnote, you continue, "for a consumer refilling a 20-gallon gas tank, a 6-tablespoon fluctuation is equal to 0.1 percent of the total gasoline purchased.’
"In fact, a 20 degree Fahrenheit variation would cause a variation in volume more than 10 times greater than you have calculated. According to the Weights and Measures Program Coordinator and the national Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a 20 degree Fahrenheit variation would cause a variation in volume of 1.38 percent, almost 12 times the result the FTC calculated. Rather than 6 tablespoons [3 ounces], the volume variation would be about three-tenths of a gallon."
Majoras also claims, on the basis of this error, that "It appears that the sale of ‘hot fuel’ might not cost consumers extra money."
Kucinich’s letter requests a meeting with Majoras "to discuss the basis for the opinions you have expressed in your letter."
I sure hope he also asks her what scientist or other weights and measures expert expresses these formulas in "tablespoons."
Majoras was confirmed for the FTC post in 2004 after the Senate declined the previous year to confirm her, expressing doubts that a former lawyer for Chevron could fairly oversee oil companies. Majoras’ husband is still a partner in the international Jones law firm that represents Chevron.
The FTC has at least twice under Majoras issued "studies" absolving the oil industry of any responsibility for yearly gasoline price spikes to record levels, while refinery profits soared and gasoline production was constricted. Rep. Barbara Boxer of California, one of the skeptics about Majoras’ nomination to the FTC, ought to give a hard look at what she’s doing now.
Then again, Majoras and Issa are two excellent reasons for the Senate to support Sen. Claire McCaskill’s S. 1997, the FAIR fuel bill, which would require temperature compensation for the retail sale of gasoline.
They’re also excellent reasons to click here and send a free fax to your U.S. Senator, asking him or her to support McCaskill’s bill.