Washington, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement today after a federal judge struck down a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rule that would have limited speculation in the oil market.
“I’m outraged by today’s decision. During Wall Street reform, Congress passed a law to put aggressive limits on gambling in the oil market that has jacked up the price of gas. The gamblers who were unhappy with the rules limiting speculation have taken their battle to the courts, hoping to subvert the will of Congress and the American people. There is no question that the new limits are necessary to diminish speculation and lower the price of gasoline. Oil speculation has risen considerably in recent years. In the past, transactions by folks who have no end use for oil accounted for about 30 percent of the market. Today, such gambling constitutes 66 percent of the market.
“The CFTC must appeal this ruling. We can’t allow Wall Street to continue levying a hefty speculation tax on Americans when they fill up at the pump.”
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