Rising gas prices on West Coast spur legislation targeting fuel market anomalies

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In response to rising gas prices, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) proposed legislation to significantly increase fuel market transparency.

The Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act aims to protect consumers by uncovering possible price manipulation and penalizing cheaters by up to $2 million per day. The legislation would also direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to proactively monitor and prevent any fraud or market manipulation that may artificially inflate gas prices at the pump.

“This legislation couldn’t come at a more needed time as drivers in Washington and all across the country face record-breaking pump prices,” said Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “Americans are frustrated and bewildered by gasoline prices that keep going up even when oil prices drop and fossil fuel companies post obscene profits. Protecting American households and business requires forcing the same level of transparency in fuel markets that we successfully fought to secure in other energy markets. This legislation will put a full-time policeman on the beat able to shine a bright light on the mysterious middle of gas markets and go after any bad actors that are exploiting consumers.”

The legislation would enhance the FTCs 2007 authority to go after false market information designed to artificially inflate retail prices at the consumers’ expense, establish a new Transportation Fuel Monitoring and Enforcement Unit at the FTC that can target bad actors, increase penalties to $2 million per day for each violation, and direct the Energy Information Administration to collect, analyze and publish detailed information related to the quantity and pricing of transportation fuels.

“Americans are paying record-high gas prices while gas companies are raking in record-high profits. It’s time for this to stop,” said Feinstein. “As we continue to work toward energy independence by investing in clean energy sources, we also need to ensure there is greater transparency in the oil and gas markets to prevent price gouging.”