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Washington, DC -- U.S. Rep. Ron Klein (FL-22) Wednesday joined members of the House Leadership at a press conference to demand an end to price gouging at the pump and to reiterate the need for America to eventually become energy independent.
“Rising gas prices are causing huge problems for families throughout South Florida, where the average cost of a gallon of gas today is well over $3.00 dollars and rising,” Klein said during today’s press conference. “In fact, gas in some places in South Florida is as high as $3.59 a gallon. It’s expected that gas prices could rise to over $4.00 a gallon in the near future, which would severely impact our families and businesses, and would negatively impact every aspect of our economy.”
Klein said oil and gas companies, who every year are reaping historic record profits, continue to offer excuses as to why gas prices continue to rise.
“So what’s the excuse the oil and gas companies are giving for the reason why gas prices have shot up through the roof this time around?” asked Klein. “We’ve heard the excuses before -- shortage of oil being pumped out of the Middle East, refineries damaged along the gulf coast following Hurricane Katrina, excessively high temperatures in the summer – but none of these excuses proved to be true in the past and they are not even remotely connected to this current price hike. The big oil companies continue to make record profits, while American consumers continue to suffer at the pump.”
Klein said conquering the gasoline crisis issue requires both a short-term and a long-term solution. Part of the short term solution, said Klein, is a bill to crack down on price gouging authored by Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan, who Chairs the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Stupak’s bill, The Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act, would provide relief to consumers by giving the Federal Trade Commission the direct authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate the price of energy.
“A first step to crack down on the high cost of gas prices is a bill recently introduced that would give the Federal Trade Commission full authority to investigate and punish gasoline price gougers,” said Klein. “The Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act would also allow the FTC to investigate at each stage of the energy production and distribution chain, expanding the Commission’s ability to track and punish gougers.”
Klein also said investigations into whether anti-trust laws are being violated within the oil and gas industry is another issue must be addressed. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers (MI), said at the press conference that this is a priority for the Committee, and that the Committee will hold hearings on this issue in the near future.
As to long term solutions, Klein said America has no other option than to become energy independent.
“American families can no longer afford to rely exclusively on oil for their energy needs. Investing in alternative fuel sources is vital to our national security. The time to make changes that will reduce gas prices in the short term, and make us energy independent in the long term, is now. I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to get the job done and do what is right for the future of our great nation.” | 
