Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act

Floor Speech

FEDERAL PRICE GOUGING PREVENTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2007)

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Mr. MARKEY. I thank the gentleman from Illinois, and for his leadership on this bill, and the gentleman from Michigan. The bill before us today would give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to investigate and punish wholesale or retail sale of gasoline or other petroleum distillates at prices that are unconscionably excessive or take unfair advantage of consumers during any presidentially declared national or regional energy emergency.

Now, we hear from the Republicans, don't interfere in the free market. Don't touch the free market. Don't have the Federal Government getting in on the side of the consumers. It's just a matter of supply and demand. That's what the Republicans are arguing. Don't interfere with the free market, even if it goes up to $3.20 a gallon for gasoline, $3.80 a gallon for gasoline, $4 a gallon for gasoline. Don't let the Federal Government help out the consumer.

You know what? The Republicans are right. It is a matter of supply and demand. Consumers are forced to supply whatever money the oil companies demand from the consumers. The oil companies have the consumer over a barrel, a barrel of oil that the oil companies control and that they price. They price it wherever they want to put it.

They tip the consumer upside down, the oil companies do, and they shake money out of the pockets of consumers at the pump. The Christians had a better chance against the lions than the consumer has against the oil companies at the pumps in the United States today.

All we are saying is let's give the Federal Government a sword to get into the battle in the arena on behalf of the consumers in America. And the Republicans are saying, we don't want to arm the Federal Trade Commission so they can help the consumers so that they are not tipped upside down. It is clear that high gas prices are hitting families hard, but they are also causing our economy to stall and to sputter like a jalopy.

The bill before us today addresses one potential cause of high prices: price gouging by the oil companies. It sends a signal to oil companies that there will now be a regulator out there that has been empowered to take action when unconscionably high prices are being charged.

The free market, I don't think so. I think that when we look at this oil market, we understand that the consumer is at the whim of the oil companies.

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