WASHINGTON - The chiefs of five major oil companies defended the industry’s huge profits Wednesday at a heated Senate hearing where lawmakers said they should explain prices and assure people they’re not being gouged.
There is a “growing suspicion that oil companies are taking unfair advantage,” Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said as the hearing opened in a packed Senate committee room. “The oil companies owe the country an explanation,” he said.
Lee Raymond, chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., said he recognizes that high gasoline prices “have put a strain on Americans’ household budgets” but he defended his companies huge profits, saying petroleum earnings “go up and down” from year to year.
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Democrats had wanted the executives to testify under oath, but Republicans rejected the idea. “If I were a witness I would demand to be put under oath,” said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. The soaring prices have sent shivers through a Congress worried about political fallout.
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