US House approves bill prohibiting gasoline price gouging

Washington (Platts)--3May2006

Responding to public sentiment that oil companies are cheating Americans
at the pump, the House of Representatives Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a
hastily created bill to prohibit abusive oil pricing.

The measure, passed 389-34, gives the Federal Trade Commission six months
to define price gouging and enforce it for sales of gasoline, crude oil,
diesel, home heating oil or any biofuel. FTC would have the ability to levy
fines of up to $3 million per day with a maximum of $150 million for criminal
violations. It would not pre-empt the 23 state price gouging laws in effect.

Unlike a GOP bill the House passed in October, the provisions would apply
at all times, not only "during a period of major disaster."

Republicans fast-tracked the bill, bringing it to the floor without
committee debate, part of their attempt to address national concern over
gasoline prices that have topped $3/gallon for most Americans. They plan to
bring to a vote additional bills to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
to drilling, encourage new refineries, and aid development of hydrogen and
renewable energy technologies.

Democrats, who wanted to define gouging as any "unconscionably excessive"
price, maintained the Republican bill was similar to theirs but late in
coming. Representative Brian Higgins, Democrat-New York, said Congress should
have enacted a bill sooner to influence the market instead of reacting to
prices.

Representative Cliff Stearns, Republican-Florida, said he hoped the bill
would stamp out oil companies' "greed and opportunism."

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