Chevron profits reach record high;lawmakers, activists call for crackdown

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http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1138455055205350.xml&coll=2

Saturday, January 28, 2006
Michael Liedtke
Associated Press

San Ramon, Calif. - ...

Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who attacked Chevron Chairman David O'Reilly and other oil industry executives when they appeared before Congress in November, lashed out again Friday.

"I call on the Bush administration and the Federal Trade Com mission to put an end to this price gouging," Boxer said. "You'd think FTC stood for 'Friend to Chevron,' with the way they sit back and let these companies gouge consumers."...

"These aren't just windfall profits; they are hurricane-force profits," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a watchdog group that has railed against the oil industry for years...

The U.S. oil and gas industry cites independently gathered data showing its profits average about $8 per $100 in sales - well below that of banking, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies, which all make an average of at least $15 for every $100 in sales.