NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - House Speaker Dennis Hastert is set to talk with the head of the oil industry's trade group about energy prices and profits in the wake of record corporate profit reported this week at Exxon Mobil.

The Illinois Republican has opposed calls by some Democrats and even a handful of Republicans for a "windfall profit" tax on the oil industry, although those measures have not had any legislative success.

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But concerns about voter backlash against high energy prices and large oil profits could hit Republican efforts to hang onto Congress in this year's elections and prompt a new round of hearings.

Monday Exxon Mobil (Research) reported that it had earned $36.1 billion in 2005, the largest corporate profit in U.S. history.

American Petroleum Institute spokesman Ray Connolly said that Hastert is due to talk with API President and CEO Red Cavaney by phone Tuesday afternoon.

"The message is basically that while it's not the American way to punish success, Americans have the right to hear from energy companies what they're doing to ensure a stable and affordable supply of energy," Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean told the Chicago Tribune.

Bonjean told the paper the House Energy and Commerce Committee would be "looking into" higher energy prices.

Connolly said that the oil industry profits are not out of line with the industry's overall revenue or its need for capital.

"We have said a number of times that our earnings are at roughly the same levels, if not lower, as other industries," he said. If there are new hearings on oil profits, he said, "We're prepared to testify further if that's required."

In November, in the wake of what was then record third-quarter oil earnings, a joint hearing by the Senate Energy and Commerce committees heard from top executives of five of the nation's largest oil companies.

Fourth-quarter earnings are running ahead of third-quarter levels, and analysts forecast that 2006 oil earnings will be 15 percent ahead of 2005 levels. With oil prices again approaching $70 a barrel and gasoline prices rebounding about 7 percent in the last month, Republicans are seen as more vulnerable to any potential voter backlash against the oil companies.

The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Exxon Mobil's political action committee has donated $218,050 to federal candidates during the current mid-term election cycle, with 90 percent of those donations going to Republicans. Hastert and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, both got the maximum $5,000 donation.

For more details on Exxon Mobil's profit record, click here.

For a special report on the 2006 oil crunch, click here.