House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., sent the president a letter Monday, calling on him to conduct an intense investigation into whether there is any "price-fixing, collusion, gouging and other anti-competitive practices" that are helping to drive up gasoline prices, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss.

"Given the severity of the current situation regarding gas prices, we believe that the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission should devote all necessary resources to expedited review of complaints of price gouging against wholesalers or retailers of gasoline and other distillates," the letter said. "We believe that protecting American consumers in these unprecedented market conditions is of paramount importance."

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Read top Republican lawmakers' letter to President Bush.

Democrats have been asking for such an investigation for years. Just last year, Republicans shepherded an energy bill giving more tax breaks to the big oil companies, reports Fuss. Now they want the Justice Department to go after them.

The Senate is working on a bi-partisan bill nicknamed "NOPEC" to scrutinize big oil mergers and allow OPEC nations to be sued if they conspire to fix prices, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

"It's a long term response," Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. told Attkisson. "Going after Saudi Arabia for fixing prices, can you imagine how long that lawsuit would go on?"

Last week, crude-oil prices hit record highs and average gasoline prices nationwide neared $3 a gallon — up an average of nearly 25 cents per gallon in the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday. Self-serve regular averaged $2.91 a gallon, up from $2.67 two weeks ago, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the nationwide Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations.

Lundberg blames the increasing prices of crude oil and the conversion to a new additive formula for the high gasoline prices, but there may be a silver lining.

"If crude oil prices don't rise further, then gasoline prices are really set to peak quite soon, because a lot of refining capacity is out of service temporarily, to get ready for our summer demand, and from the damage exerted last year by the hurricane," she told CBS Radio News.

Over the weekend, Mr. Bush repeated his State of the Union promise to wean America from dependence on oil, CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports.

"We're addicted and it's harmful for the economy and it's harmful for our national security, and we've got to do something about it in this country," the president said Saturday in California.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers hurting at the gas pump.

"I believe that we have allowed too many companies to get together to reduce competition," Specter said Sunday.

"They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices," he said. "In the short run, it's hard to deal with it for tomorrow. But I think windfall profits, eliminating the antitrust exemption, considering the excessive concentration of power are all items we ought to be addressing."

Specter is backing legislation that would strengthen antitrust laws on oil company mergers after his committee held a hearing last month examining the growing consolidation of the oil industry. The nation's largest oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., have denied their industry size has affected prices.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he believes gas prices "would come down within a matter of days" if President Bush told oil companies that he was going to support a windfall profits tax.

"But the president will not call the oil companies into his office because he's been too closely allied with those oil companies, and if he does it's going to be a window-dressing conversation," said Levin, who appeared with Specter on CNN's "Late Edition."

 

I hope they get something done about it. Our gas budget has nearly doubled. Everyone is complaining about their budget strains.

 

the only reason republicans are doing anything now is because we're in an off-election year, which means the only ones that can be voted out of office is congressmen and senators...

 

yeah...good luck with that...

"wish in one hand"..

 

"Ill hold my breath"

 

it's nice someone noticed, even though it probably won't make a difference

 

I hope does get solved the way we want it to be. I wish gas prics were about a 1.00 for premium to the gallon.

 

bush wants to do some thing about oil to get or minds off the iraqi war and attacking iran

[IMG]local://upfiles/8815/40BEDE74D7D9483A989FF36A2800DB47.gif[/IMG]

 

^^^^^ those were some good old days... when gas was like 40 cents a gallon.

 

Trying to sure OPEC, what a joke. If their price fixing was the problem, then we should have sued them long long ago. This country is spoiled. Period. A finite resource can only go up in price and America better get its act together if it doesn't want to face a crisis a few decades down the line. Three dollars a gallon, HA!, enjoy these days because they are numbered.