mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
the amendment itself is brief . 
it is titled consolidation of the gasoline industry , and says , `` the comptroller general of the united states shall conduct a study of the consolidation of the refiners , importers , producers , and wholesalers of gasoline with the sellers of such gasoline at retail . 
the study shall include an analysis of the impact of such consolidation on : the retail price of gasoline ; small business ownership ; other corollary effects on the market economy of fuel distribution ; local communities ; and other market impacts of such consolidation. '' then at the very end it says , `` the comptroller general shall submit such study to the congress not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this act. '' it could delay it as much as a year . 
the hard , cold facts about this amendment are that the gao released studies in july 2004 that were titled , `` mergers and other factors that affect the u.s. refining industry , '' which attempted to discover the cause behind higher gasoline prices . 
this amendment essentially commissions the gao to create a report that was already released last year . 
so there is real need for it . 
there have been many criticisms of the gao report because of its inadequate methodology and faulty assumptions . 
these critiques arose from the federal trade commission , a government agency that has been studying and tracking gasoline price volatility as a result of mergers or anticompetitive behavior . 
they found the gao study to be fundamentally flawed and the results as suspect . 
gao has already tried to wade through these issues of gasoline prices and wade through the issues of wholesale markets , and they have shown it does not have the expertise nor the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to properly analyze this subject . 
the amendment would be commissioning a futile study and is a waste of time and resources . 
i urge a `` no '' vote on this amendment . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
