Jennifer m. Granholm letter to president sept 16 2005Says Companies Should Not Profit at Expense of American Citizens LANSING Governor Jennifer M. Granholm yesterday urged the President again to take aggressive action to protect consumers from unwarranted gas price increases. In a letter to the President, Granholm said he should ask oil companies to immediately lower gas prices, announce a plan to cap exorbitant oil profits, and order an immediate investigation by the appropriate federal agencies into the recent actions of the oil industry and resulting harm to our national economy. Hurricane Katrina exacerbated a problem that already existed and is already hurting our economy, causing consumer inflation to rise one-half percent in August, Granholm wrote. These price increases represent a money transfer from consumers of oil and petroleum products to the U.S. oil industry and foreign oil producers. Granholm noted that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, gas prices increased 63 cents per gallon in just three days. Hours after she requested that Marathon Oil drop its prices in Michigan, prices fell 40 cents at the companys service stations. However, Granholm said gasoline prices are still significantly higher than even last year or the year before, and the impact for American citizens and for states like Michigan is adverse on the manufacturing, service, and tourism sectors. Yesterday, one of Michigans largest employers, Northwest Airlines, filed for bankruptcy and cited rising fuel costs as a major reason. I am concerned that this is only the beginning of the fallout of high gas prices on Michigan businesses and industries. While our industries falter, big oil continues to reap record profits, Granholm wrote. In her letter, Granholm concluded, I am asking that you take aggressive action, as I did, to call on the oil companies to lower gas prices and cap exorbitant profits, and announce that your federal agencies will begin an immediate investigation into the oil and gasoline markets. If they continue unchecked, we are inviting economic disaster for the majority of Americans for the benefit of only a few. The federal government cannot and should not sit by idly while big oil profits at the expense of American citizens and the American economy."