The Iowa senator said he is writing a letter to the International Monetary Fund to ask for the market-distorting behavior of the 11 members of OPEC ? the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ? to be weighed when these nations apply for loans. The United States provides 20 percent of the funds used for loans made by the 182-member IMF.
"The soaring cost of diesel fuel and gasoline has an especially negative effect on farmers and truckers, who have their livelihood so tied to input costs," Grassley said. "The OPEC production quotas that led to this price crisis are especially egregious after the U.S. military and taxpayers saved many OPEC nations from Saddam Hussein in 1991."
Grassley also said he would appeal to President Clinton to modify his request to provide $415 million in foreign aid to OPEC members. For example, the President's new budget proposal seeks $50 million for Indonesia. That's up from $23 million last year. And, it requests $25 million for Nigeria, which is up from $20 million last year.
Earlier this week, Grassley called on the U.S. government to re-evaluate its decision against tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reserve is available at the President's discretion when a very sharp increase in petroleum prices threatens economic stability.
OPEC members supply more than 40 percent of the world's oil and possess 77 percent of the world's total proven crude oil reserves. Members include Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Iraq.
Grassley is a leading advocate for development and expanded use of renewable sources of energy, especially corn-based ethanol. "The current diesel fuel and gas prices underscore the importance of alternative energy sources. Domestically-produced ethanol is good for farmers, it's good for the environment, and it's good for U.S. independence from foreign sources of oil," Grassley said.