Obama to outline plan today for combating oil market manipulation

Under pressure to take action on rising gasoline prices, President Barack Obama will today ask Congress to implement a plan that entails strengthening federal supervision of oil markets and increasing penalties for market manipulation, a senior administration official says. The White House plan is more likely to draw sharp election-year distinctions with Republicans than have an immediate effect on prices at the pump. The measures seek to boost spending for Wall Street enforcement at a time when congressional Republicans are seeking to limit the reach of federal financial regulations. Obama will spell out his $52 million proposal later today at the White House, where he will be joined by Attorney General Eric Holder. Senior administration officials who put together the proposal say it aims to detect and deter illegal manipulation by energy speculators, the type of practices that many Democrats blame for the high cost of gasoline. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plan ahead of Obama’s announcement. They would not go so far as to say that market manipulation is responsible for rising gas prices, but the officials said they wanted to curtail the ability of speculators to take unlawful advantage of oil price volatility. For more details on the plan, read the full story here.