Friday, September 23, 2005
A Form Letter
So the Dept of Energy finally responded to my email. If you read my original letter and the response you can see the deep irony in the form letter that they sent. Here it is:
Dear Sir/Madame:
Thank you for contacting me regarding gasoline prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I want to assure you that this Administration – from the President down – shares your concern, and we have taken aggressive steps to ensure American consumers have the fuel they need.
As you know, Hurricane Katrina resulted in the suspension of most domestic oil production and refining in the central Gulf region. Coupled with increasing demand for oil overseas, over the past months American consumers have experienced a price spike as a result of tighter supplies.
In order to quickly address this situation:
I authorized loans of oil to refiners from our Nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ensure that gasoline refiners have the supplies necessary to continue production and keep gas stations stocked;
President Bush took the historic step of directing me to sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in coordination with sales by the other 25 member countries of the International Energy Agency;
The Department of Energy worked in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Transportation to waive regulations that would impede the efficient flow of gasoline and other products to first responders and markets experiencing shortages.
The Department of Energy is also taking action to protect consumers from price gouging. While our hope is that all Americans would come together in this time of national tragedy, we recognize that some may seek to take advantage of this situation. If you, or someone you know, believe you have experienced price gouging, I encourage you to register a complaint by telephone (1-800-244-3301) or online at www.energy.gov.
All complaints will be forwarded to the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and the State Attorneys General for investigation, and, where appropriate, prosecution.
Dear Sir/Madame:
Thank you for contacting me regarding gasoline prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I want to assure you that this Administration – from the President down – shares your concern, and we have taken aggressive steps to ensure American consumers have the fuel they need.
As you know, Hurricane Katrina resulted in the suspension of most domestic oil production and refining in the central Gulf region. Coupled with increasing demand for oil overseas, over the past months American consumers have experienced a price spike as a result of tighter supplies.
In order to quickly address this situation:
I authorized loans of oil to refiners from our Nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ensure that gasoline refiners have the supplies necessary to continue production and keep gas stations stocked;
President Bush took the historic step of directing me to sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in coordination with sales by the other 25 member countries of the International Energy Agency;
The Department of Energy worked in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Transportation to waive regulations that would impede the efficient flow of gasoline and other products to first responders and markets experiencing shortages.
The Department of Energy is also taking action to protect consumers from price gouging. While our hope is that all Americans would come together in this time of national tragedy, we recognize that some may seek to take advantage of this situation. If you, or someone you know, believe you have experienced price gouging, I encourage you to register a complaint by telephone (1-800-244-3301) or online at www.energy.gov.
All complaints will be forwarded to the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and the State Attorneys General for investigation, and, where appropriate, prosecution.
# posted by The Professor @ 9:39 AM 
