Had Congress not prevented drilling by energy companies in America, would oil prices be lower for Americans?

It would increase the supply of oil by a small amount so the price would be a little lower, but not much. Oil is sold on world markets so the benefits would not be just for Americans. The slight decrease in our imports would result it an increase in the supply for the rest of the world unless OPEC cut production to compensate, in which case it would have no effect on prices. However it would improve our trade deficit and the dollar would be stronger which would decrease the price of oil somewhat in the US. But there are many other actions the government could take such as balancing the budget and ending the war in Iraq that would also strengthen the dollar.Had Congress not prevented drilling by energy companies in America, would oil prices be lower for Americans?
Lower... Almost certainly. How much lower is another issue.





OPEC, and even more importantly, speculators on Wall Street know they are ALMOST the only game in town. They saw how Americans didn't raise a major fuss when prices rose after Katrina. So now they have no incentive to lower prices. If America was less (it will never be completely) dependent on their oil, they would be forced to be more competitive with the other oil markets.Had Congress not prevented drilling by energy companies in America, would oil prices be lower for Americans?
It was not Congress who ';prevented drilling by energy companies in America'; is was sane citizens. So the answer is NO, oil prices would not be lower.





Jesus Christ Almighty help us all. There's nothing like a crisis to bring out the worst in people.





Everybody screaming and whining about the price of gas really needs to take a deep breath.





First of all - you have no one to blame but yourselves. It's not like we just got up this morning and learned that OIL IS A FINITE PRODUCT. We've known this for years, we've had the technology for years to produce cars that get better gas mileage, and yet when do we scream and pound our fists on the table? When gas gets to 4 bucks a gallon. We have no one to blame but ourselves.





And secondly - and most importantly - intelligent creatures (like homo sapiens is reported to be?) do not destroy the very web of life by which oxygen is produced and food is produced.





I'm sorry for the people who do not understand the Web of Life, and how all living things are connected, and how wetlands and oceans and soil and water and the interconnectedness of species and ecosystems are all intertwined and this is what's keeping us alive and the globe healthy - I'm truly sorry if you do not understand that basic fact....





But I will NOT perish because a small band of imbecils don't get it.





We cannot break off, piece by piece, the boat we are floating in. We cannot destroy life on earth so that YOU can drive for fifty more miles.
Of course. Prices would be much lower if EPA laws were repealed. With the mandates of multitudes of blends to meet EPA standards the cost of labor to make each cities particular blend goes up, as does cost to separate each blend in the pipe lines.





If government wants lower price then it should first look to the things it has done to increase them.
I am all for drilling. Let's drill...I'm for cheap oil...cheap food...cheap houses. Why does everything cost so much. Back in the day gas cost $0.25 a gallon...a 4 bedroom house $5,000...a new car $500. I read some where that in the next century college will cost $300,000 for one semester. A dollar just does not by what it use to.
did bush's 6 yr. republican congress prevent drilling?








hey jeff - what do you have to say for him having 6 yrs. to do whatever the hell he wanted and he didn't do a D@M thing about rising energy prices?
That's a very difficult question. Gun to my head I would say slightly lower.








MadLibs: You need to come up with some new material. Just blaming Bush for every ill in the country really doesn't cut it.
We use so much oil and the wages here are so high, it would make very little difference. Look at the price of natural gas.
Yes, they would be lower world wide.