I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3236
To prohibit price gouging of products and services that are widely needed 
during a designated disaster. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2003
Mr. KLECZKA (for himself and Mr. ETHERIDGE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit price gouging of products and services that are 
widely needed during a designated disaster.
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 ‘‘Permanently Inhibit 
Gougers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONDUCT PROHIBITED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any com-
mercial vendor in an area and during a period described 
in subsection (b) to raise the price of products or services 
that are widely needed in such an area during such period,
by more than 10 percent above the average retail price 
of such goods or services charged by that vendor during 
the preceding 90 days. 
(b) APPLICABLE AREA AND PERIOD.—The prohibi-
tion in subsection (a) shall apply to commercial vendors 
in areas in the United States which have been designated 
disaster areas by the President or by the Governor of a 
State, and shall apply—
(1) for 90 days after such designation is made; 
and 
(2) for a period of 7 days before a disaster that 
results in an area being designated a disaster area, 
if the disaster is reasonably foreseeable by commer-
cial vendors in such an area during such a 7 day pe-
riod. 
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe 
regulations pursuant to section 18(a) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)) providing that the 
conduct described in section 2 shall be an unfair or decep-
tive act or practice under section 5 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
45), and implementing the requirements of this Act. Such 
regulations—
(1) shall include a list of products and services 
that are likely to be widely needed in a designated 
disaster area which shall be subject to the prohibi-
tion in section 2; 
(2) may establish a means for determining the 
average retail price of such products and services 
charged by a particular vendor during the 90 day 
period preceding the designation of the area as a 
disaster area; 
(3) shall include guidelines for determining 
whether, during the period described in section 
2(b)(2), the disaster was reasonably foreseeable to 
commercial vendors in the area; and 
(4) shall include an exemption for commercial 
vendors subject to the prohibition in section 2—
(A) when there is an increase in the whole-
sale costs to such vendors of products subject to 
such prohibition; or 
(B) when there is a legitimate increase in 
the operational costs to such vendors in pro-
viding services subject to such prohibition, 
and such vendors raise the price of such products 
and services no more than the increased wholesale or 
operational cost to the vendor, plus 10 percent.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL PENALTY PROVISION. 
Notwithstanding subsections (l) and (m) of section 5 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(l) 
and (m)), the maximum amount of civil penalty for each 
violation of this Act and the regulations prescribed under 
this Act shall be $250,000. 
SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 
A person, class of persons, or entity may, if otherwise 
permitted by the laws or rules of a court of a State, bring 
in an appropriate court of that State—
(1) an action based on a violation of this Act 
or the regulations prescribed under this Act to en-
join such violation; 
(2) an action to recover up to 3 times the ac-
tual monetary loss to such person, class of persons, 
or entity from such a violation; or 
(3) both such actions. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act shall take effect on the date on which the 
regulations required by section 3 shall take effect.
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