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Can the president control the oil companies?

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    Gov. Bill Richardson weighs in on high gas prices and what President Obama can do

  • Duration 6:42
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In effect -- -- and as you may know energy secretary chewed testified before congress this week.

Basically saying the Obama administration doesn't really want to lower gas prices will now mr.

Zhou is clarifying.

We very much want to.

It's not only slow the prize -- reversed the price of -- increase in gasoline.

If one reads my entire statement.

It was very consistent with that.

Okay not quite but that's all right we're not gonna quibble joining -- have a Santa Fe, New Mexico former energy secretary under President Clinton governor Bill Richardson.

-- isn't really anything that a president can do to control the oil companies.

From charging what they want to -- -- for example we have supplied plenty of supplies in the USA right now because of the warm winter.

Yet the speculators.

And Iran and all of that.

They do what they do in the American oil companies kind of take advantage of that and Jack it up through anything -- president can do.

Well a president has very few options and I think the president Obama's been honest by saying there -- no easy fixes but.

There are short some short term things you can do.

One the strategic petroleum reserve.

What we did in the Clinton administration we didn't sell barrels but we put him on the market.

That's one thing.

You know what it got to try to Wetherell -- I labeling of folks explained to the folks are you didn't sell you put him on a market forbid.

And that drove the market price down is that -- that dead.

It did yeah yeah I didn't drive it down bill in those days we were talking about 28 point nine.

Thirty dollars and it drove it down for the short term.

A little bit you can also try to control speculators but that's very difficult you can say you're gonna try to control price gouging at the -- That's difficult.

One thing I did.

Which had mixed success but was -- was I went around OPEC countries to the Saudi Arabia's and I said look you've got to increase production.

Because the prices too high.

Consumer countries are hurting -- but you really don't have too many options.

I said but look at -- You do have some options so locked in New Mexico in your state.

You know people have to drive here in a -- stave people sometimes drive a long time to go to work its stores aren't everywhere in your state they need gasoline.

You also live in a poor state New Mexico is not an affluent state so this just takes from people who live and on the margin anyway so I say look.

The oil companies are basically setting a sole objective price it's not an object of prices not supply and demand plenty of supply in the USA right now.

They're they're taken into all kinds of things in the calculations.

So far -- the president had a column a -- All right like John Kennedy did to the steel manufacturers in 1960 -- and listen.

You gotta give the country a break you're gonna set us back into recession he can't be Jack -- an up as high as you possibly can.

Because is only seven or eight of you when you're in collusion on the price anyway you've got to give us a break -- -- -- wrong thing to do.

Now that's gonna die like your new populist tone I think that makes sense not at all jawboning column man.

And say to them say to them look you get four billion dollars in subsidies.

We're gonna take them away.

Unless you give people a break in the oil companies what they say unfortunately.

Is look it's supply and demand we can't control the price yes we're -- record.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- In OPEC when they import they can't control that I understand that I mean the prices the price on the world market.

With right now there's plenty of supply here they don't need a buyer right now.

Are -- looking down a road a year a year and they're also exporting now to China American oil refined here and found here.

Go to China and other countries 4% of it now.

And when your energy secretary it was no percent that didn't happen.

So did you know that the oil companies do have and correct me if I'm wrong they have ruled in the pricing.

They do and they could do more refining they could do more renewable energy.

They could take a number of steps slut.

The way the president is talking makes sense we need more diversity of our energy supplies increase.

Fuel efficiency in our.

Vehicles.

Diversify -- transportation -- Renewable energy portfolio mandate 20% renewable and every state.

But I think the key bill is natural gas.

As a bridge vehicle find a way to move to natural gas which is plentiful which has claimed.

Make it a bridge to renewable energy increase oil and gas production and this administration has done that.

There's -- and oil and gas drilling in the United States that was all done under bush and then it came to fruition under Obama as you know the -- the drilling.

Allowances are half what they -- Before BP.

But look here's the bottom line on this shield comes in earlier this week and says you know we really don't want I would drive the price oil down to desire against the war.

A what you're talking about natural gas and other alternatives the more attractive they look now he's -- track and it OK fine everybody makes mistakes whatever it may be.

But you can't do the alternative energy -- this is their governor Solyndra we reported last night about a bound to.

Soul.

So I say -- president Obama's got to be more aggressive with the oil companies I think you're agreeing with me here and I'll give -- the last word go.

Well yup I think -- -- that that's a good thing but I think with the Solyndra is build the problem is that China.

Is subsidizing their solar companies we've got to be competitive.

What -- been a good energy secretaries a scientist.

60% of the job is managing the national.

Perhaps you're not an energy czar -- say.

But what he is saying is that we need to diversify.

Our energy supplies.

You know he's done a lot of great work on batteries and fuel efficient -- -- -- a lot of good work people are suffering none of it is there yet and and on -- let me just correct -- China China doesn't have a sixteen trillion dollar debt okay.

Because they don't provide services for their people like we do.

So they can afford to -- a lot of speculation that we can't afford to do and I think the private sector can compete with them anyway.

Nice to have you on a program always get --

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