May 23, 2007 — Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today made the following comments in regard to recent attempts by Congressional leadership to address rapidly rising gasoline prices through legislation such as the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act.  The act passed in the House yesterday by a vote of 284-181, barely attaining the two-thirds majority needed to sustain a veto.

Congressman Franks stated, “America's high gas prices are a result of OPEC’s exploitation of our dependence on foreign oil and a product of market forces. I believe there are viable solutions that Congress can utilize to address the unreasonable gasoline prices facing American families today.  Unfortunately, this bill equated to little more than window-dressing and would have utilized the same government price-controls that resulted in the massive fuel shortages of the 1970’s.”

Franks continued, “Considering that no new oil refineries have been built within the United States since 1976, and that there are approximately half the number of refineries currently operating that there were 20 years ago, one of our first priorities should be passing legislation that would ease regulatory burdens, increase drilling and expedite the expansion and construction process for U.S. refineries.  Our goal should be to enable more market participants to increase our domestic capacity and provide Americans with the resources they need.  And meanwhile, Congress might also consider eliminating its own federal 18-cents-a-gallon fuel tax.”