Manipulation of the natural gas market must end

by U.S. Congressman Sam Graves

American innovation and can-do have brought about such rapid change in the past 100 years that it is almost difficult to remember what life was like in the 20th century. Today, for instance you can change a photograph to show people and objects that were not in the original photograph. This photo manipulation allows a picture to show something that actually never existed.

Manipulation though does not stop with photos. In New York, we have seen a pattern of manipulating the natural gas market. Large volume traders can buy or hold large quantities of natural gas until they can sell at a higher price. Like photos, this makes the markets react to conditions that do not exist.

While it’ good for the trader’s pocketbook; it is seniors, manufacturers and farmers who are burned by artificially high natural gas prices. About 55% of American homes, many of them seniors, rely on natural gas to heat their homes. Natural gas prices are expected to skyrocket this winter. While Hurricane Katrina has certainly had an impact on the price of natural gas it is not the only reason for the increase.

That is why I have introduced a bill that will help slow the increase of natural gas prices in the short-term. It puts the daily trading limit back on natural gas, which is one of the only commodities not to have a daily limit. It is a bi-partisan, common sense bill that offers Congress its only chance to do something about skyrocketing natural gas prices.