Those Statists Republicans

Who said the Republican party was for free markets? The Houston Chronicle reports:

"The things that were not politically possible two months ago are still before us and require an answer," Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said.

"We can either ignore them or we can act. I say we act," he added.

But few of the lawmakers' ideas would be to the oil industry's liking.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., for instance, will introduce legislation today that would impose a windfall profit tax that would hit oil companies when the price of crude tops $40 a barrel. Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday closed at $65.96 a barrel, down $1.61 cents.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is calling on Congress to reinstate an authority the president had until 1981 to impose controls on gas prices.

It's not just the Democratic party who's doing little to increase supply.Via Hit and Run