Hinchey Introduces Bill To Restore Gas Prices To Pre-Hurricane Katrina Level
Hinchey Introduces Bill To Restore Gas Prices To Pre-Hurricane Katrina Level
September 8, 2005
Emergency Temporary Energy Price Freeze Act of 2005 Would Provide President With Authority To Order Price Caps On Petroleum To Help Prevent Customers From Being Exploited By Oil Companies
Washington, D.C. - In an effort to help ease the financial burden Americans are feeling at the pump, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today introduced the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Temporary Energy Price Freeze Act of 2005, which would provide the president with the authority to freeze gas prices at or below the level they were prior to the devastating storm. The price cap on gasoline and other petroleum products would stay in effect until the domestic supply of petroleum meets or exceeds the level of domestic supply experienced before the hurricane.
"As much as we wish we could go back in time and save the lives and property that Hurricane Katrina destroyed, we know that we cannot. But this measure does allow us to turn back the clock on gas prices so that Americans are not forced to pay obscene and unreasonable amounts for gas," Hinchey said. "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation we have seen remarkable acts of kindness and generosity from millions of Americans, but unfortunately we have also seen acts of greed and market manipulation by oil companies. This measure would present the president with the authority to put an end to these unrealistically inflated gas prices and help keep them under control for millions of Americans until our nation recovers from this great tragedy."
While acknowledging that Hurricane Katrina's extensive damage to petroleum production, refining, and transportation facilities has contributed in part to massive price increases for related products across the country, Hinchey expressed strong concern that big oil companies are exploiting the storm and artificially raising prices beyond what is acceptable and economically plausible. The congressman said that the price freeze measure would help all Americans during this period of national emergency.
The Hurricane Katrina Emergency Temporary Energy Price Freeze Act of 2005, which was originally authored and introduced earlier this week in the Senate by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), also outlines penalties for those who violate the price caps on petroleum. Under the measure, anyone who willfully violates the price freeze would be fined up to three times the amount of the profit from such a violation.
"Massive price increases are causing real economic hardship for countless of Americans who use gas for transportation and other necessities on a daily basis," Hinchey said. "Many Americans who live in rural areas don't have the option of using public transportation, and even those who do have access to buses and trains are seeing those fares go up as a result of these massive spikes in the cost of gas. It is time for the federal government to put its foot down and ease the financial burden being experienced by Americans at the pump."
Hinchey today also led a large group of House members calling for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations into price fixing by the oil industry. Hinchey and 94 of his colleagues sent a letter to FTC Chairwoman Deborah Majoras and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking them to examine the legality of the rapid price increases Americans have seen at the pump in recent months, with a particular focus on the massive spikes experienced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny22_hinchey/morenews/090805gaspricefreeze.html