U.S. v. Exxon Corp.
| Citation | 628 F.2d 70,202 U.S.App.D.C. 70 |
| Decision Date | 27 May 1980 |
| Docket Number | 80-1003 and 80-1018,Nos. 80-1002,s. 80-1002 |
| Parties | , Energy Mgt. P 26,186 UNITED STATES of America v. EXXON CORPORATION, a corporation, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. SHELL OIL COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. MARATHON OIL COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. Miscellaneous Nos. 79-0149, 79-0150, & 79-0217).
Donald B. Craven, Washington, D.C., with whom Mark L. Evans, Washington, D.C., was on the brief, for appellant Exxon Corp. A. M. Minotti, entered an appearance for appellant Exxon Corp.
Robert W. Steele, Washington, D.C., with whom J. Wallace Adair and Robert E. Hebda, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellant Shell Oil Co.
Daniel Joseph, Washington, D. C., with whom Warren E. Connelly, Washington, D. C., and William M. Berenson, Boston, Mass., were on the brief, for appellant Marathon Oil Co.
Thomas R. Kline and Ann F. Cohen, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., with whom Alice Daniel, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charles F. C. Ruff, U. S. Atty., and William G. Kanter, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellee. H. Robert Field, Atty., Dept. of Energy, Washington D. C., also entered an appearance for appellee.
Before WRIGHT, Chief Judge, BAZELON, Senior Circuit Judge, and WILKEY, Circuit Judge.
Opinion for the court per curiam.
These are appeals from a District Court order of December 19, 1979 enforcing identical administrative subpoenas duces tecum against three oil companies: Exxon Corporation, Shell Oil Company, and Marathon Oil Company. We affirm the District Court's enforcement of the subpoenas, subject to a protective order as discussed below.
On May 9, 1978 Congress passed the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA), 15 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq. (Supp.1979), Title III of which directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Justice Department, and other appropriate agencies, to conduct a study of subsidization of wholesale and retail motor fuel sales by vertically integrated oil companies. Id. § 2841. 1 The Secretary delegated to the Director of the Office of Competition of the Department of Energy (DOE) his purported power to issue subpoenas to obtain information for the Title III study, and on January 22, 1979 the Director served on these appellants subpoenas for a broad range of documents related to subsidization. 2
Appellants have challenged the subpoenas on several grounds, most notably: (1) DOE's subpoena power under Title III can derive only from Title III itself, the language of which is silent on subpoena power, and the legislative history of which demonstrates congressional intent that DOE have no subpoena power for the Title III study. (2) The general grants of subpoena power Judge Penn rejected the oil companies' claims, holding that DOE had subpoena power for the Title III study under DOEOA. We agree. Title III of PMPA rather obviously makes no provision for subpoena power for the subsidization study. 3 Our analysis of DOEOA, however, reveals that DOE did not need a special grant of subpoena power for this specific study. Rather, Title III specifically instructs DOE to conduct a study which the agency would in any event be permitted to conduct under its broad general DOEOA mandate. Thus, DOE can rely on the subpoena power in Section 7255. 4 We address this issue first, because it lays the premise for our analysis of the oil companies' legislative history argument.
to DOE in the Department of Energy Organization Act (DOEOA), 42 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), and the Federal Energy Administration Act (FEAA), 15 U.S.C. § 761 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), cannot provide subpoena power for an agency function which, like the subsidization study, stands outside and was mandated subsequent to these general acts. (3) Even if the general grant of subpoena power under the DOEOA, 42 U.S.C. § 7255 (Supp. I 1977), could apply to a later-mandated agency function, that section, which incorporates the subpoena power granted the FTC under 15 U.S.C. § 49 (1976), applies only to narrowly focused agency investigations of specific legal violations, not open-ended studies. (4) In denying administrative review of the subpoenas, DOE violated its own regulations, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the due process clause. (5) The subpoenas are too broad and burdensome to meet the demands of legitimate purpose and relevancy.
DOEOA provides in 42 U.S.C. § 7255:
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary, or his duly authorized agent or agents, shall have the same powers and authorities as the Federal Trade Commission under Section 49 of Title 15 (the FTC's subpoena power) with respect to all functions vested in, or transferred or delegated to, the Secretary or such agents by this chapter.
In creating DOE, Congress expressly sought to achieve effective management of energy resources, promote consumer interests by ensuring an ample and reasonably priced supply of energy, and foster the economic health of small businesses engaged in energy production. Id. § 7112. The statute mandates appointment of eight Assistant Secretaries with such responsibilities as promoting competition and setting regulations for consumer protection. Id. § 7133(a)(7). The Secretary must create an Energy Information Administration (EIA) for
carrying out a central, comprehensive, and unified data and information program which will collect, evaluate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate data and information which is relevant to energy resource reserves, energy production, demand, and technology, and related economic and statistical information, or which is relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet demands in the near and longer term future for the Nation's economic and social needs.
Id. § 7135(a)(2). The statute also vests the EIA Administrator with the very broad duties the FEAA had assigned to the Administrator of the Office of Energy Information Administration under 15 U.S.C. § 790 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), including the task of maintaining information on the economic structure of energy supply systems. Id. § 790a(b). Finally, the DOEOA requires the Secretary to make an annual report on the effectiveness of competitive and regulatory practices of government and private entities. 42 U.S.C. § 7267(5) (Supp. I 1977).
The specific study required by Title III falls well within the range of administrative inquiry which these provisions of DOEOA place within DOE's power. We find no reason why the phrase "by this chapter" in Section 7255 cannot include an agency function lying within the powers granted by that chapter, but reinforced by a specific subsequent legislative mandate. Thus, DOE's performance of the Title III study is a legitimate means of "carrying out the provisions of this chapter" within the meaning of Section 7255.
Since DOE thus already possessed subpoena power for a general study of subsidization when Congress passed Title III, that statute's silence on subpoena power would seem to be of no consequence; Congress would have had to build into Title III a clear withdrawal of subpoena power if it did not want DOE to issue subpoenas for the Title III study. The oil companies point to the legislative history of Title III and to grants of subpoena power in related legislation to argue that Congress intended to do just that. We disagree.
The heart of the legislative history argument is a pair of remarks by Senator Bumpers, the sponsor of Title III. The remarks arose during debate on a proposed amendment to Title III offered by Senator Kennedy. That amendment, incorporating the confidentiality section of the Energy Supply and Coordination Act, 15 U.S.C. § 796(d) (Supp. I 1977), would have barred disclosure of certain information DOE obtained from the oil companies as confidential, except for requiring disclosure upon request to the Justice Department, the FTC, and other listed agencies. Senator Bumpers objected vigorously to the Kennedy amendment, apparently construing it as giving these other agencies access which they would otherwise lack to DOE-obtained information. Senator Bumpers believed that the oil companies' fear of adverse use of such information by the other agencies would chill their willingness to comply voluntarily with DOE requests for Title III information. Apparently, he felt that such voluntary compliance was crucial because he assumed that DOE would have no subpoena power under Title III. See 124 Cong.Rec. S7155 (daily ed. May 9, 1978). 5
The debate on the Kennedy amendment is clouded by confusion on both sides as to what changes the amendment would make in the status quo. Despite this confusion, it does appear clear that Senator Bumpers thought there would be no subpoena power under Title III. Nevertheless, we do not see how Senator Bumpers' express or implied view can alter our own view of DOE's general subpoena power here. First, "(t)he remarks of a single legislator, even the sponsor, are not controlling in analyzing legislative history." Chrysler Corp. v. Brown, 441 U.S. 281, 311, 99 S.Ct. 1705, 1722, 60 L.Ed.2d 208 (1979). Second, even if Senator Bumpers did believe that DOE would have no subpoena power under Title III, that belief was really unnecessary to his argument against the Kennedy amendment. Senator Bumpers wanted to encourage voluntary compliance with Title III. Under the severe time constraints Title III was to impose on DOE, voluntary compliance would be extremely desirable, even if DOE retained a fall-back subpoena power. Therefore, the context of Senator Bumpers' remarks weakens their...
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