Gordon Votes To Ease Pain At Gas Pumps

May 23, 2007, WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon voted for legislation to help curb rising gas prices by setting penalties for price gouging and allowing the U.S. Justice Department to take action against countries that inflate the price of exported oil.

“Last year, the average family paid $1,000 more for gasoline than they did in 2001,” said Gordon. “Middle Tennesseans are struggling with record gas prices, and they have the right to know if they are paying a fair price for gas.”

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1252, the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act. The bill would give the Federal Trade Commission and state Attorneys General the authority to investigate and punish those who inflate gas prices during energy emergencies.

On Tuesday (May 22), the House approved a bill to authorize the Justice Department to take legal action against members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that conspire to limit oil supply to artificially inflate prices.

“While these bills will help protect consumers from being cheated by unnecessarily high gas prices, we still need to reduce our dependency on foreign energy.” said Gordon. “We need a more balanced energy policy that will include clean and renewable domestic sources of energy and promote conservation and energy efficiency.

Gordon said the House Science and Technology Committee advanced those efforts today by approving his legislation to help decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil by funding innovative energy research projects. The bill would create an Advanced Research Projects Agency within the Department of Energy to develop new technologies to address the nation’s energy needs.

Committee approval clears the bill for consideration by the full House.

Gordon, the chairman of the Science and Technology Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, also has introduced legislation to ensure the federal government is a leader in energy efficiency.