Will Conservatives Fuel Higher Gas Prices?

Updated: May 20, 2022

By: Danielle Morales

We often hear Conservatives spew “Let's go Brandon” in conversations involving recent fuel price increases. But the fact of the matter is that the U.S. president does not control fuel prices, and Biden is doing his best to alleviate “pain at the pump”. While conservatives continue to berate the democratic president, it is the conservative members of Congress who may fail to help resolve the matter.

What is happening? At this time when the world is recovering from–and paying for the cost of the COVID Pandemic–an extra pinch at the gas pump is the last thing American families need to be worrying about. And yet, fuel prices continue to be on the rise, allowing oil companies to profit off of the international crisis. According to AAA, gas prices hit an average of $4.59 per gallon this week—an increase of $1.55 from last year.

On May 19th, 2022, the U.S House of Representatives voted to pass legislation to combat our nation’s rise in gas prices. The bill is meant to crack down on price gouging by oil companies during times of war, public health emergencies, or natural disasters—all of which we have experienced in the last two years. “The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act”, would allow President Biden to issue an emergency energy proclamation, denying companies the authority to increase fuel prices to "unconscionably excessive" levels. Companies will be "presumed to be in violation" if they use "the effects or circumstances related to the exceptional market shock as a pretext to increase prices."

“The problem is Big Oil is keeping supply artificially low so prices and profits stay high. Now I think that when the market is broken, that's when Congress has to step in to protect American consumers”... “And that's what this bill does: It empowers the FTC to go after the gougers and empowers the agency to effectively monitor and report on market manipulation.” - Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a hearing

“I'm a proud capitalist, and what we're experiencing with fuel prices is the result of a broken market”...“Big Oil executives are bragging to shareholders about price gouging families at the pump. They're purposely keeping supply low to earn record-high profits, squeezing families — and our entire economy— in the process.” - Democratic Rep. Katie Porter

The bill is backed by House Democrats, endorsed by President Joe Biden, and was approved by the House with a vote of 217-207. In this vote Republicans unanimously opposed the bill. The bill now approaches the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster, and the signature of President Biden in order to become law.

The bill seems unlikely to pass the Senate, as most Republican members of Congress believe the bill to be unwarranted and misguided, stating that there is no proof of price gouging in the market. Conservatives have been placing blame, not on oil companies, but on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (the U.S. has banned Russian oil imports driving prices up). Although it is true that a jump in oil prices following the Russian oil ban was unavoidable, according to Rep. Chris Pappas, “the price of crude oil fell last month, yet the prices consumers pay at the pump continued to rise. We have to put an end to this corporate profiteering and give families relief.”

What will happen if the bill fails? If the Senate fails to pass the bill, U.S. families will continue to feel the “pain at the pump” until alternative resolutions can be found. In the meantime, Biden is continuously releasing record amounts of oil from our nation’s reserves in order to manage supply issues.