Boxer Asking for Congressional Investigation of Gas Prices

Senator Barbara Boxer is calling on Congress to investigate California´s soaring gasoline prices.

Boxer asked the General Accounting Office to look into reports that refiners are taking more plants than normal off line for maintenance, cutting supplies and sending prices spiraling upward. Boxer also wrote the heads of seven major oil companies, asking for records that show how many hours their refineries were off-line over the last four months, as well as during the same period a year earlier.

The average retail price of gas in California hit $2.04 this week, an all time record for the state. In Sonora, the average price for a gallon of regular is $2.03.

The oil industry attributes the price hike to rises in the cost of crude, now at a two-year high. Although supply remains steady, jitters about war in the Middle East and civil unrest in Venezuela have boosted the price of oil.