-Gas Price Crisis Reaches Week 13 as Prices near Record Highs Again-

U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) expressed his continued frustration with the increasingly high gas prices in southern West Virginia today, saying, "The gas price crisis started over three months ago when our average gas price hit a record high. Since then prices have remained high, and this week they are soaring back towards setting new records. I have said it before and I will probably have to say it again, we must take action to solve this crisis."

AAA reports the average price for a gallon of gas in West Virginia is $2.26 today. And, according to http://www.westvirginiagasprices.com/ some stations in southern West Virginia are charging as much as $2.49 a gallon. Rahall stressed that these prices are unfair to West Virginians and that they will remain high or continue to get worse unless the Administration takes action to fix the crisis.

"As we celebrate our Independence this weekend, we will all be constantly reminded that we are not independent from those in the Middle East who control our gasoline prices," said Rahall. "And it seems so convenient for the big oil industry that these gas prices are once again edging towards record highs as millions of Americans prepare to travel this Fourth of July weekend. This coincidence seems to happen every holiday weekend and I am once again calling for an investigation into the possibility of price fixing by these big oil corporations."

Rahall has proposed many different options for alleviating the pressure of high gas prices on the people of southern West Virginia. In addition to urging the Administration to conduct an investigation into the possibility of price gouging at the pump, Rahall is also a proponent of alternative fuels to gasoline, especially coal based fuels including liquid or gaseous coal based fuels. He has also urged the Administration to temporarily stop diverting oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help increase supply in the short term. Another suggestion for lowering gas prices made by Rahall was that the Administration pressure OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) to increase oil production.

According to Marvin Gray of the West Virginia Gasoline Dealers Association and as reported on MetroNews, the gas prices are so volatile that they can go up 20-cents in a matter of hours. This is in stark contrast to the past practice of predicting prices a couple of weeks ahead, according to Gray. Gray blames supply and demand for the high gas prices, thus confirming that some gas price relief would occur if President Bush took Rahall's advice and opened the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

"I am disappointed that the decision makers in the White House continue to make the wrong decision, or worse yet, no decisions to help solve the gas price crisis," said Rahall. "These prices are causing families to miss their vacations because they are spending all their hard earned dollars on gas to drive to and from work. This is entirely unacceptable and I hope the Administration changes their approach and takes some advice to lower these gas prices."