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May 23, 2022

House Approves Price Gouging Bill, But Legislation Unlikely To Be Considered By Senate

Last week, the U.S. House of Representative approved a bill on a 217-207 vote that would allow President Joe Biden to issue an energy emergency declaration prohibiting companies from excessively hiking up gasoline and home fuel prices. The legislation would:

  • Ban selling fuel at an “excessive” price during an energy emergency without setting any particular price threshold;
  • Empower the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pursue legal action if instances of price gouging are discovered;
  • Require the FTC to investigate whether the price of gasoline is being manipulated by reducing refinery capacity or other means; and
  • Create a new unit at the FTC tasked with monitoring fuel markets.

As The Hill explained, the bill is unlikely to be approved by the U.S. Senate where it would need the support of 10 Republicans to advance. Instead, the legislation is part of a messaging push by Democrats to try to blame the oil industry for rising prices.

Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) oppose the legislation. “Rather than unlocking more domestic energy, this bill would effectively impose price controls that would discourage new energy production, resulting in even less supply while demand continues to increase,” USCC officials said in a statement.

The USCC also advised, “Energy production takes a great deal of lead time. That’s why the administration and Congress need to send clear signals to the energy industry that they will support domestic production not just in the near term, but over the long term.”

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