U.S. Senator Herb Kohl is pushing for passage of legislation which would permit the U.S. Department of Justice to bring actions against foreign states for collusive practices in setting the price or limiting the production of oil. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with executives representing the nation's five largest oil companies, Kohl said Congress should act to pass his " No Oil Producing & Exporting Cartels Act" or NOPEC . Kohl's bipartisan NOPEC bill was passed overwhelmingly last year by the Senate as an amendment to the Energy Bill and this week by the House of Representatives as a stand-alone measure, both with veto-proof majorities.