Washington, D.C. – Crude oil traded at $41 a barrel for most of the day today. Prices have exceeded $40 a barrel nearly every day during the last eight days of trading; coal prices continue to creep up and natural gas prices remain high. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “This country will not take charge of its own energy destiny. Until we do, we will continue to be buffeted by high energy prices like the ones we are seeing right now. Crude oil has traded above $40 for much of the last two weeks. It traded above $40 for much of May and June. The price of coal is driving up the cost of everything from residential electricity bills to the wholesale price of steel. Sustained high natural gas prices continue to drive U.S. jobs overseas. “This trend will continue until we take control of our energy destiny. We either act or get used these prices.”