II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4048 

To require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study on conduct 

related to oil and gas prices, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2022 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study 

on conduct related to oil and gas prices, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Fair and Transparent 

5 Gas Prices Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FTC STUDY ON CONDUCT RELATED TO OIL AND GAS 

7 PRICES. 

8 (a) STUDY.—The Federal Trade Commission (in this 

9 section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), in coordination 


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1 with State attorneys general, as appropriate, shall conduct 

2 a study, using the Commission’s authority under section 

3 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 46(b)), to investigate anti-competitive, collusive, or other 

5 conduct related to oil and gas companies and markets, in6 cluding the actual price of oil and gas paid by consumers. 

7 Such study shall include an analysis of— 

8 (1) whether such oil and gas companies use 

9 their financial resources in a manner that would not 

10 expand or increase fuel supply, including by reduc11 ing investments in the production of fuel, engaging 

12 in stock buy backs, or any other conduct the Com13 mission deems appropriate; and 

14 (2) whether such anti-competitive, collusive, or 

15 other conduct may— 

16 (A) result in inflated costs for consumers 

17 or be considered price gouging; 

18 (B) delay producing or delivering more fuel 

19 supply; 

20 (C) impact investment decisions that would 

21 contribute to additional fuel supply; or 

22 (D) restrict the availability, accessibility, 

23 or affordability of alternative fuels or vehicle 

24 technology. 

25 (b) REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

3 thereafter for the following 2 years, the Commission 

4 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con5 gress a report containing the results of the study 

6 conducted under subsection (a), together with rec7 ommendations for such legislation and administra8 tive action as the Commission determines appro9 priate or necessary to provide fair consumer costs 

10 with respect to oil and gas. 

11 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON12 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

13 committees of Congress’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate; 

16 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

17 Resources of the Senate; 

18 (C) the Committee on Energy and Com19 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

20 (D) the Subcommittees on Financial Serv21 ices and General Government of the Commit22 tees on Appropriations of the House of Rep23 resentatives and the Senate. 

24 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF PAPERWORK REDUCTION

25 ACT.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (comVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Apr 11, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4048.IS S4048

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1 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’), shall 

2 not apply to the collection of information under subsection 

3 (a). 

4 (d) ADDITIONAL FTC RESOURCES.— 

5 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of law, the Commission 

7 shall, without regard to the civil service laws (includ8 ing regulations), appoint not more than 50 addi9 tional personnel, as necessary, for the purposes of 

10 carrying out the study and report required under 

11 this section. 

12 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com14 mission to carry out this section $15,000,000 for 

15 each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024. 

Æ 


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