Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced legislation to help combat high gas and energy prices in Nevada and across the country. The Fair and Transparent Gas Prices Act, which would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate anti-competitive, collusive, or other illegal activity that artificially raises the price of oil and gas paid by consumers. This legislation comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, which has already dramatically raised gas prices globally.
“Donald Trump’s reckless war-of-choice in Iran has drastically increased gas prices nationwide, squeezing working families’ budgets even further,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “However, this destabilization of the oil markets is also an opportunity for corporate greed. We must ensure that Trump’s friends in the oil and gas industry aren’t taking advantage of the chaos to rake in record profits at the expense of hard-working American families.”
The Fair and Transparent Gas Prices Act, introduced with Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), would provide the FTC with $15 million annually to hire fifty additional investigators and enforcement personnel, tasked with rooting out any illegal price-gouging by oil and gas companies. The FTC would conduct any investigations in coordination with state attorneys general. This legislation would also require the FTC to provide investigation status reports to Congress. Read the full bill here.
Senator Cortez Masto also re-introduced the Energy Consumer Protection Act, alongside Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This legislation would provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with the authority to ban or limit traders who are found to repeatedly manipulate electricity and natural gas markets. Just last week, a company was ordered to pay more than $1 billion for committing fraud on energy capacity markets. This bill would provide FERC with additional tools to protect American households and businesses from bad actors. Read the full bill here.
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently worked to lower Nevadans’ energy costs. Earlier this year, Cortez Masto introduced the Lowering Home Energy Costs Act to help everyday Americans lower their energy costs by putting money back into their pockets if they make their homes more energy efficient. The Senator also introduced a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to overturn an IRS rule that makes it harder for wind and solar energy companies to claim vital tax credits and raises energy costs. Senator Cortez Masto introduced the American Homes First Act, which would invest an additional $1 Billion into the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), one of the most successful programs aimed at reducing energy costs for working families.
###