Gallego Votes to Act on Big Oil Price Gouging
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) voted to pass H.R. 7688, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, a bill that cracks down on price gouging and excessive price increases by oil company CEOs.
Rep. Gallego’s vote builds on his continued efforts to provide Arizonans relief at the gas pump. Earlier this week, Rep. Gallego led a letter to the IRS calling on the agency to increase the 2022 optional standard mileage rate used to deduct the cost of operating an automobile for business purposes. When prices first began to increase, Rep. Gallego called on Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to use some of the billions in American Rescue Plan funds sent to Arizona to provide families with direct relief.
“Oil company CEOs are recording soaring profits while hardworking Arizonans get squeezed at the gas pump,” said Rep. Gallego. “These high prices are the result of Big Oil capitalizing on unprecedented global crises for their own benefit. Today, House Democrats acted to penalize market manipulators and reduce exploitative price gouging. While in the long run we must invest in clean energy technologies that will make America energy independent, passing this bill is a necessary step to getting immediate relief to our families.”
H.R. 7688 would be the first ever federal law against price gouging, with provisions that would grant the president the power to declare an ‘energy emergency proclamation, make it illegal to sell consumer fuels at an excessive and exploitative price during an energy emergency, and give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to penalize fuel wholesalers and retailers for price gouging.
For the full text of H.R. 7688, click here.