You asked...

What am I doing about gas prices?

In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, people all over America and throughout the world are answering the call for help. Unfortunately, there are reports that some are taking advantage of this crisis by exploiting consumers at the gasoline pump. There is a sense of urgency to find out if price gouging is going on – not to finger point but to pinpoint the problem and protect the consumer. I have been fighting to help relieve families and businesses from high gas prices and I will continue to fight.

For more than a year, I have asked the President to take steps to increase crude oil supplies by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and urging OPEC to maximize output.

· On September 2, 2005, I sent a letter to President Bush, calling on the administration to direct the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to investigate price-gouging complaints. They must take action to protect the American people from unfair prices at the gas pump.

· On September 14, 2005, the Senate unanimously passed my amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill that provides $1,000,000 for the Federal Trade Commission to immediately investigate whether or not there is price gouging. Specifically, the FTC needs to investigate the effects of price gouging on economic activity in the U.S. and how price spikes are impacting people’s purchasing power.