Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner suggested that the U.S. go back to the double-nickel speed limit to save fuel. What Warner did not tell you is that our fine senators voted unanimously for Phil Gramm's “Enron Loophole.” In fact, the legislation was co-sponsored by former U.S. Rep. Tomas Jerome Bliley, Jr. (R-VA) of Richmond, VA.
Bliley, a graduate of Georgetown, was a funeral director. He retired in 2001, probably realizing he could make a fortune in energy commodity trading.
Bliley had a lot of help concocting the loophole. Rep. Larry Combest (TX), James A. Leach (IA) and John LaFalce (NY) joined fellow Republican and Sponsor Thomas W. Ewing of IL (probably not related to J.R. of Dallas) in pushing Phil Gramm's bill through the House and Senate.
Gramm's timing was perfect. Members of Congress wanted to go home for the holidays. They lumped H.R. 5660 — the Commodity Futures Modernization Act — into a package with several others and created H.R. 4577, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2000.
The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate in December of 2000. These men were Phil Gramm's stooges. Either that or they were in on the plan to fleece the oil goose and their fellow Americans.
Good old Bill Clinton, who I heard extolling ways to eliminate our oil and energy problems at Concord University, graciously signed the bill into public law on December 21, 2000. Now we have a major problem and he and our fine lawmakers blame it on someone else.
Here is the problem with HR 5660. This “Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000” attempted to resolve a dispute over jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC. Two key elements of the bill appear to have a direct impact on the markets and the financial services industry, specifically investment banks and hedge funds. The act created the “Enron loophole.”
That loophole exempts energy speculators who make trades electronically from U.S. regulation. Some people argue that the unregulated energy speculation, made legal back in 2000, can account for much of the inflated rise in oil prices.
But now, eight years after energy traders — led by Phil Gramms's efforts — were able to push legislation exempting their electronic trades of energy futures from U.S. regulation, a measure in the new Farm Bill aims to close the loophole and subject futures trades made electronically inside the United States. The farm bill contains legislation that would regulate energy futures trading in the market that was famously abused when Enron Corp. manipulated California's electricity prices in 2001.
Now John McCain uses Gramm as his economic advisor and Gramm is against changing the law. (Or is it the other way around — Gramm uses McCain?)
Some 292 of our finest congressmen (157 Democrats, 133 Republicans, 2 independents) and our Senators voted “yea” for the bill. Somebody snowed somebody.
This was not the first fleecing Gramm has given Americans; it is just the biggest one. Remember the electrical energy shortage California had to deal with a few years ago? Gramm's wife Wendy served on Enron's board of directors and some think that she helped create the electricity shortages that bilked Californians out of about $40 billion.
McCain said he opposes the farm bill. Is it because of the reasons he gave or has Phil Gramm cleverly foxed McCain? Gramm is now McCain's chief piggy bank and economic advisor. McCain admits he does not know as much about economy as he should. He isn't alone. Apparently most of our congressmen and all of our Senators had the same problem back in 2000. Either that or we seriously need to look into their commodities trading activities.
lll
Phil Gramm left the Senate in 2002 in search of greener grass. Gramm is now a high-paid executive with a Swiss bank. usB, a Swiss concern, lists Gramm among its senior leaders. I don't know anyone that has a Swiss bank account and if they do they have it to hide something. Gramm holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in economics.
Wilson Butt, a Bluefield resident, is a retired Department of Highways official.
Columns
July 7, 2008
Fleecing of the U.S. by Phil Gramm
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