I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4913
To establish a system for the reimbursement of fines levied and collected
due to illegal practices engaged in by participants in the petroleum
industry to injured consumers based on the consumers’ distance from
Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 20, 2000
Mr. KIND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish a system for the reimbursement of fines levied
and collected due to illegal practices engaged in by par-
ticipants in the petroleum industry to injured consumers
based on the consumers’ distance from Eau Claire, Wis-
consin.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Got Gas? Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
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(1) Gasoline prices increased dramatically from
the beginning of June 2000, rising over eighty cents
per gallon to July 2000.
(2) During that time frame gasoline prices in
the Upper Midwestern region of the country in-
creased at twice the rate of the national average,
making consumers in this region the most adversely
affected by high gasoline prices.
(3) Due to the dramatic and unanticipated rise
in gas prices the Federal Trade Commission has un-
dertaken a formal investigation into possible price
gouging and other anti-competitive behaviors on the
part of the petroleum industry.
(4) If the Federal Trade Commission, during
the course of the investigation, uncovers anti-com-
petitive criminal violations, and if fines are levied
and collected, the money collected should be re-
turned to the consumers adversely affected, rather
than placed in the Federal Treasury.
(5) Efforts to identify and accurately indemnify
those consumers affected by anti-competitive prac-
tices are important and should be engaged.
(6) Being that the individual identification of
harmed consumers is extremely difficult in regard to
the purchase of gasoline, a national point based
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commodity reimbursement policy must be developed
to adequately reimburse injured consumers.
SEC. 3. REIMBURSING THE PARTIES INJURED DUE TO ILLE-
GAL PRACTICES ENGAGED IN BY THE PETRO-
LEUM INDUSTRY.
The Department of Justice shall have the authority
to develop a consumer reimbursement system of fines lev-
ied and collected as a result of any finding of anti-competi-
tive, collusive, or other illegal behavior on the part of par-
ticipants in the petroleum industry. Compensation shall be
distributed in a manner based upon injured consumers’
distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Such compensation
shall decrease proportionally with the injured consumers’
distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this Act:
(1) the term ‘petroleum industry’ shall include
refiners, pipeline owners and operators, terminal
owners and operators, blend plant owners and opera-
tors, oil companies, and other petroleum market par-
ticipants.
(2) the term ‘fines levied and collected’ can in-
clude money recovered as a result of settlement of
any case.
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(3) the term ‘injured consumers’ means individ-
uals affected by any anti-competitive, collusive, price
fixing, price gouging, or other illegal behavior on the
part of participants in the petroleum industry.
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