Commentary
On May 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act by a vote of 217–207. Four Democrats and every Republican voted against the bill. The purpose of the bill is to empower the federal government (specifically, the Federal Trade Commission) to fine oil companies if they increase prices in an excessive or exploitative way, with the bill, in typical Washington fashion, not bothering to define what constitutes “excessive” or “exploitative.”
This bill—which has little chance of passing the Senate—is both cynical and revealing.
It’s cynical because supporters of the bill are accusing oil companies of doing what the federal government itself is doing—namely, restricting the supply of oil. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) publicly declared, “Big Oil is threatening our entire economy by keeping supply low and jacking up prices at the pump …”…