Arkansas delegation asks for Congressional hearing on diesel prices
The Trucker Staff
4/4/2008
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives delegation from Arkansas, in responding to a state trucking association request, has called on congressional leadership to initiate hearings on the high price of diesel fuel.
U.S. Representatives Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, John Boozman and Mike Ross on April 3 called for Congressional hearings to look into how these excessive prices are impacting the nation’s economy.
The members of the bi-partisan delegation requested the hearings in letters to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee John Dingell, and Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Bart Stupak.
The Arkansas House Members said that the recent spike in prices has inflicted tremendous economic hardship on working families whose livelihood is vulnerable to the volatility of diesel prices. They said that increased diesel fuel prices add to the economic woes faced by working families who are already forced to deal with the rising costs of health care, groceries and high energy prices.
“It is imperative that Congress examine the impacts that these rapidly escalating prices are having on businesses, interstate commerce, the flow of goods throughout this country, and on our economy in general,” the letter stated.
The call comes a week after the Arkansas Trucking Association, which represents 84,000 Arkansans who are employed by trucking companies and private carrier fleets, voiced its concerns on the matter.
“Congress should examine why supplies of diesel are plentiful, consumption is flat, yet the price keeps rising,” said Lane Kidd, association president.
The association’s board of directors includes senior executives for such public trucking companies as FedEx Freight, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, ABF Freight System, P.A.M. Transportation Services and USA Truck, as well as the transportation divisions of Wal-Mart Stores and Tyson Foods.
