WASHINGTON — If you had to fuel up this weekend, you probably noticed the price of gas going up ... again.
Lawmakers are looking for ways to stop potential price gouging, including making it a federal offense.
The constant increase in gas prices is getting to a point where most of us dread filling up our tanks.
Channel 2′s Blair Miller in Washington explains the impact this could have on your money.
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“Every day you drive by, it’s one price. And within a matter of hours, it’ll jump up again,” said Jerrell Herring, a truck driver.
Truck drivers are now facing the possibility of diesel shortages at some gas stations.
“They have to come up with some kind of solution to the solve this problem so we can move on in America,” said Herring.
Lawmakers are planning to vote on a bill, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Act, to address price gouging.
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The bill would allow the president to issue a National Emergency to stop the sale of gas or other fuels at an excessive price. It would even authorize federal penalties.
“Again and again, we see gas prices rise, sometimes when the cost of oil goes — drops — oil prices drop, and price gouging needs to be stopped,” said U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The bill would give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to crack down on oil companies with more than $500 million in annual consumer fuel sales.
“The cost of gasoline rose from the first day that President Biden came into office ... until the start of the war in Ukraine by a dollar a gallon,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).
Some gas price analysts warn that if something doesn’t change, we could soon see gas prices reach an average of over $5 a gallon.
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