WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the news that Big Oil companies made record-breaking profits last year while working families struggled to afford sky-high gas prices, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Patty Murray (D-WA) will reintroduce legislation that would crack down on this sort of corporate greed by preventing the oil industry from engaging in gasoline price gouging. Specifically, the Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act would make it unlawful to sell gasoline at a price that is unconscionably excessive during a crisis affecting the oil markets.
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“It is outrageous that Big Oil raked in billions of dollars in record-breaking profit by choosing to jack up gas prices at the expense of working families—rather than boost production to meet the needs of everyday consumers,” Duckworth said. “No megacorporation should be using Putin’s war of choice against Ukraine or any other crisis as an excuse to excessively increase the price of gas, which is why I'm proud I’ll be reintroducing this bill with Senator Blumenthal that would help put an end to these sorts of abuses and help working families keep more of their hard-earned dollars.”
“Oil companies charging sky-high prices during times of national hardship must be held accountable,” Blumenthal said. “Without protections from the industry’s price gouging and greed, American consumers are left to pay the bill at the pump. Our legislation will give the FTC and state officials the tools needed to prevent working families from subsidizing these giants’ record profits."
“There’s simply no excuse for oil companies to be making record profits while Washington state families pay so much more at the pump,” Murray said. “We’ve seen giant oil and gas companies take advantage of global crises and supply chain disruptions in the worst way. We’ve got to stand up for consumers and hold giant corporations accountable for any price gouging—and that’s exactly what this legislation will do.”
A copy of the bill one-pager can be found here.
While Big Oil has been taking advantage of hardworking families, Duckworth has been diligent in working to save Americans money at the pump while continuing to be a long-time supporter of the use of ethanol to lower costs, emissions and improve our energy security using domestic fuel sources. In the last Congress, Senator Duckworth discussed the introduction of this bill during the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing on American Energy Security. Duckworth also helped introduce the bipartisan and bicameral Next Generation Fuels Act to leverage higher-octane fuels to help lower emissions and improve engine efficiency and performance, as well as the Home Front Energy Independence Act, which would make E15 available year round. In a Senate hearing, EPA Administrator Michael Regan confirmed that the Home Front Energy Independence Act would help bring down gas prices at the pump for working families. Additionally, Duckworth applauded the Biden Administration’s announcement that it will publish the ethanol blending mandates for 2020, 2021 and 2022 at levels that more closely resemble American consumption levels and help farmers and biofuel producers prepare for the future.
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