INVESTIGATION OF AID PROGRAMS TO POOR LAUNCHED BY REPUBLICANS
February 15, 2006
Mr. Félix M. Rodríguez
President and CEO
CITGO Petroleum Corporation
P.O. Box 4689
Houston, TX 77210-4689
Dear Mr. Rodriguez:
Over the past several months, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made
numerous public announcements about providing discounted heating oil to poor
communities and schools within the United States. According to various media
reports and company briefings, Venezuela has already signed several
agreements to provide discounted heating oil to various not-for-profit
entities, primarily in the Northeast, through Houston-based CITGO Petroleum
Corporation (CITGO). CITGO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Venezuelan
state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), with 14,000 gas
stations and 8 oil refineries in the United States. While the Committee
certainly has no objection to Venezuela assisting low-income Americans, we
want to understand whether the beneficiaries are being selected in an
objective, equitable fashion, or whether this is merely part of a larger
political agenda.
Unfortunately, many of President Chavez’s public statements concerning the
United States Government suggest that his purportedly altruistic motives may
camouflage his true motivations. President Chavez has repeatedly
demonstrated a warped view of the United States and its leaders, as well as
bizarre concepts of fundamental justice. Consider, for example, that one day
after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Chavez claimed that
“[t]he United States brought the attacks upon itself.” More recently, during
a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization event in Rome, Italy on
October 17, 2005, President Chavez called the United States “the North
American Empire that threatened all life on the planet.” At a November
meeting of Venezuelan and Brazilian business executives in Caracas, Chavez
declared, “The people of the United States are being governed by a killer, a
genocidal murderer and a madman.” Furthermore, last Christmas Eve, Chavez
made the following anti-Semitic remarks:
“Some minorities, descendants of the same ones who crucified Christ . . .
took all the world’s wealth for themselves.”
Venezuela also has close ties to several nations that have undisputed ties
to terrorism, including Cuba, Syria, Iran, and Libya. In fact, during a
September 16, 2005, interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline, President Chavez
boasted of being “friends” with Fidel Castro and other decidedly
anti-American foreign political figures.
Given President Chavez’s clear anti-American sentiments, his current efforts
must be viewed with concern that he is attempting to politicize the debate
over U.S. energy policy. Indeed, CITGO’s Chief Operating Officer, Jerry
Thompson, recently acknowledged as much in an interview with USA Today
(January 12, 2006, page A1): “Being owned by a political entity [PDVSA]
ultimately means, from time to time, you have to do things with a political
bent to them. Heating oil as an example of that.”
The Committee would like to get a better understanding of Venezuela’s
program offering discounted heating oil to select low-income communities in
the United States (the Program). Accordingly, pursuant to Rules X and XI of
the United States House of Representatives, please respond to the following
questions. (1) How and when was this Program first conceived? (2) How and
why were the particular beneficiaries of this Program selected? (3) How is
the Program being implemented? (4) What is the status of the Program in each
of the proposed communities? (5) Does this Program run afoul of any
antitrust laws? In addition, please provide all records in CITGO’s
possession, custody, or control relating to the Program. All responses and
documents should be provided on or before February 23, 2006.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Joe Barton
Chairman
Ed Whitfield
Chairman
cc: The Honorable John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
The Honorable Bart Stupak, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Mr. Félix M. Rodríguez
President and CEO
CITGO Petroleum Corporation
P.O. Box 4689
Houston, TX 77210-4689
Dear Mr. Rodriguez:
Over the past several months, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made
numerous public announcements about providing discounted heating oil to poor
communities and schools within the United States. According to various media
reports and company briefings, Venezuela has already signed several
agreements to provide discounted heating oil to various not-for-profit
entities, primarily in the Northeast, through Houston-based CITGO Petroleum
Corporation (CITGO). CITGO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Venezuelan
state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), with 14,000 gas
stations and 8 oil refineries in the United States. While the Committee
certainly has no objection to Venezuela assisting low-income Americans, we
want to understand whether the beneficiaries are being selected in an
objective, equitable fashion, or whether this is merely part of a larger
political agenda.
Unfortunately, many of President Chavez’s public statements concerning the
United States Government suggest that his purportedly altruistic motives may
camouflage his true motivations. President Chavez has repeatedly
demonstrated a warped view of the United States and its leaders, as well as
bizarre concepts of fundamental justice. Consider, for example, that one day
after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Chavez claimed that
“[t]he United States brought the attacks upon itself.” More recently, during
a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization event in Rome, Italy on
October 17, 2005, President Chavez called the United States “the North
American Empire that threatened all life on the planet.” At a November
meeting of Venezuelan and Brazilian business executives in Caracas, Chavez
declared, “The people of the United States are being governed by a killer, a
genocidal murderer and a madman.” Furthermore, last Christmas Eve, Chavez
made the following anti-Semitic remarks:
“Some minorities, descendants of the same ones who crucified Christ . . .
took all the world’s wealth for themselves.”
Venezuela also has close ties to several nations that have undisputed ties
to terrorism, including Cuba, Syria, Iran, and Libya. In fact, during a
September 16, 2005, interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline, President Chavez
boasted of being “friends” with Fidel Castro and other decidedly
anti-American foreign political figures.
Given President Chavez’s clear anti-American sentiments, his current efforts
must be viewed with concern that he is attempting to politicize the debate
over U.S. energy policy. Indeed, CITGO’s Chief Operating Officer, Jerry
Thompson, recently acknowledged as much in an interview with USA Today
(January 12, 2006, page A1): “Being owned by a political entity [PDVSA]
ultimately means, from time to time, you have to do things with a political
bent to them. Heating oil as an example of that.”
The Committee would like to get a better understanding of Venezuela’s
program offering discounted heating oil to select low-income communities in
the United States (the Program). Accordingly, pursuant to Rules X and XI of
the United States House of Representatives, please respond to the following
questions. (1) How and when was this Program first conceived? (2) How and
why were the particular beneficiaries of this Program selected? (3) How is
the Program being implemented? (4) What is the status of the Program in each
of the proposed communities? (5) Does this Program run afoul of any
antitrust laws? In addition, please provide all records in CITGO’s
possession, custody, or control relating to the Program. All responses and
documents should be provided on or before February 23, 2006.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Joe Barton
Chairman
Ed Whitfield
Chairman
cc: The Honorable John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
The Honorable Bart Stupak, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations