II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1743 

To authorize the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and assess 

penalties for price gouging with respect to oil and gas products. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 

Mr. SMITH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the Federal Trade Commission to investigate 

and assess penalties for price gouging with respect to 

oil and gas products. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Post-Disaster Con5 sumer Protection Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRICE GOUGING PROHIBITION FOLLOWING MAJOR 

7 DISASTERS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) AFFECTED AREA.—The term ‘‘affected 

10 area’’ means an area affected by a major disaster 
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1 declared by the President under the Robert T. Staf2 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

4 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

5 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

6 (3) OIL OR GAS PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘oil or 

7 gas products’’ means oil, gasoline, diesel, aviation 

8 fuel, natural gas, or home heating oil. 

9 (4) PRICE GOUGING.—The term ‘‘price 

10 gouging’’ means the charging of an unconscionably 

11 excessive price by a supplier of an oil or gas product. 

12 (5) SUPPLIER.—The term ‘‘supplier’’ includes a 

13 seller, reseller, wholesaler, or distributor of an oil or 

14 gas product. 

15 (6) UNCONSCIONABLY EXCESSIVE PRICE.—The 

16 term ‘‘unconscionably excessive price’’ means a price 

17 charged— 

18 (A)(i) for an oil or gas product sold in an 

19 affected area that represents a gross disparity, 

20 as determined by the Commission, between the 

21 price charged by a supplier for that product 

22 after a major disaster is declared and the aver23 age price charged for that product by that sup24 plier in the affected area during the 30-day pe-
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1 riod immediately before the President declares 

2 the existence of the major disaster; or 

3 (ii) for an oil or gas product produced in 

4 the affected area for sale in interstate com5 merce that represents a gross disparity, as de6 termined by the Commission, between the price 

7 charged by a supplier for that product after a 

8 major disaster is declared and the average price 

9 charged for that product by that supplier dur10 ing the 30-day period immediately before the 

11 President declares the existence of the major 

12 disaster; 

13 (B) that is not attributable to increased 

14 wholesale or operational costs incurred by the 

15 supplier in connection with the provision of the 

16 oil or gas product or to international market 

17 trends; and 

18 (C) that is not attributable to a loss of 

19 production or loss of pipeline transmission ca20 pability. 

21 (b) PRICE GOUGING INVOLVING DISASTER VIC22 TIMS.— 

23 (1) OFFENSE.—During the 30-day period fol24 lowing the date on which a major disaster is de25 clared by the President, it shall be unlawful for a 
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1 supplier to sell, or to offer to sell, any oil or gas 

2 product at an unconscionably excessive price as de3 scribed in subsection (a)(6). 

4 (c) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this Act 

6 shall be enforced by the Commission under the Fed7 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

8 A violation of any provision of this Act shall be 

9 treated as an unfair or deceptive act or practice vio10 lating a rule promulgated under section 18 of the 

11 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a). 

12 (2) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—The Com13 mission may prevent any person from violating this 

14 Act in the same manner, by the same means, and 

15 with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 

16 though all applicable terms and provisions of the 

17 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

18 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 

19 Act. Any entity that violates any provision of this 

20 Act is subject to the penalties and entitled to the 

21 privileges and immunities provided in the Federal 

22 Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the 

23 same means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, 

24 and duties as though all applicable terms and provi-
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1 sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were in2 corporated into and made a part of this Act. 

3 (d) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing contained 

4 in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the 

5 Commission under any other provision of law. 

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