The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on energy industry consolidation. A panel of legal experts and regulators, as well as a panel of oil industry executives testified about the state of competition in the industry, impact of several recent corporate mergers, and potential affects on consumers. Committee members were often critical of industry practices saying that mergers among major firms in recent years had lead to price gouging and other collusive behavior and that there was a strong correlation between soaring fuel costs and a rise in the concentration of oil and gas companies. Energy industry executives, who were sworn in at the beginning of their testimony, were warned that their actions could lead to strong antitrust legislation that would make it illegal to withhold fuel from the market in an attempt to lift prices, and also impose new limits on oil mergers.