Judiciary Democrats call for inquiry into gas price gouging

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http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Judiciary_Democrats_call_for_inquiry_into_gas_pric_0901.html

Judiciary Democrats call for inquiry into gas price gouging
RAW STORY


Democratic House Judiciary members Conyers, Nadler, Meehan, Sanchez, Weiner, Jackson Lee, Boucher, Wexler, Van Hollen and Schultz called on the Federal Trade Commission investigate gasoline price gouging resulting from Hurricane Katrina, joining a similar call by the House Republican chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX).

Barton told a local paper he thought that increases of 20 cents per gallon Tuesday within his district might be “excessive, given that the industry in Texas is stable.”

Hearing about $1/gallon increases, Barton said, “If that’s true, that’s something that needs to be investigated and prosecuted,” Barton said. The rise in wholesale oil and gas prices “does not justify a $1-a-gallon gasoline price increase.”