NOPEC

The House has just debated the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act of 2007, H.R. 2264, which will enable the Department of Justice to take legal action against foreign nations for participating in oil cartels that drive up oil prices globally and in the United States. This legislation does so by exempting OPEC and other nations from the provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act when acting in a commercial capacity; by making clear that the so-called "Act of State" doctrine does not prevent courts from ruling on antitrust charges brought against foreign governments; and by authorizing the Department of Justice to bring lawsuits in U.S. courts against cartel members.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18): "So, I would ask my colleagues from all parts of the country to be sympathetic to vacationers, people trying to get to hospitals, mothers and fathers taking children to various places, elderly trying to get to the places of worship where they go, just the sheer operation of America is dependent on what we do here today. I can't go home, and I imagine none of you can, without saying we tried to do something."