WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate approved energy legislation that includes a gas price gouging measure that is very similar to Congressman Bart Stupak’s gas price gouging bill.  Stupak said passage of anti-price gouging legislation in the Senate is an important step forward. 

“Both the House and the Senate have now approved measures that would ensure the Federal Trade Commission cracks down on gas price gouging,” Stupak said.  “I was pleased my Senate colleagues included the anti-gas price gouging provisions in their energy package.”

The Senate anti-gas price gouging bill was sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).  Stupak’s gas price gouging bill passed the House with support of two-thirds of the House in May.

“I commend Senator Cantwell for her hard work on this legislation,” Stupak continued.  “I look forward to working with her and with all my colleagues to send a gas price gouging bill to the President’s desk soon.”

Stupak’s bill, which is nearly identical to the Cantwell legislation, would provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with a clear, enforceable definition of price gouging.  The bill would authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate and punish those who unreasonably inflate the price of energy, focusing enforcement on the worst offenders, specifically companies with sales of more than half a billion dollars a year.

“The FTC examined gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and found several instances where it appears that consumers had been cheated,” Stupak said.  “The FTC found that 23% of refineries, 9% of wholesalers, and, 25% of retailers had increased prices that ‘were not substantially attributable to increased costs’ and ‘could not be attributed to national market trends.’   In short, even when consumers were paying too much, the FTC was powerless to act because there is no law against gas price gouging.”

Stupak continued by noting that rising gas prices amount to a tax on the American consumer that benefits the oil industry. 

“My Subcommittee, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee looked into gas prices and found that for every 10 cents that gas prices go up, $14 billion is transferred from consumers to Big Oil,” Stupak said.

“When consumers pay record prices, Big Oil reaps record profits.  In 2006, ExxonMobil made $75,000 per minute, more than double the median family yearly income of my constituents,” Stupak added.  “We need a gas price gouging bill to be put on the books so that consumers are no longer ripped off at the pump.”

A prominent Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Stupak is a recognized leader in Congress on energy issues.  Last year, when gas prices reached record levels, Stupak delivered the Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address.

# # #