HOUSE Key Vote Alert - Price Gouging
KEY VOTE ALERT
"NO" on the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 6346)
The Club for Growth urges members of the House to vote "NO" on the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 6346), sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak. This vote will be included in our annual Congressional Scorecard.
This bill seeks to prohibit the sale of gasoline at prices that are "unconscionably excessive" or that take "unfair advantage" of consumers. But it is a dangerous and arbitrary proposal. Nowhere in the bill are "unconscionably excessive" and "unfair advantage" even defined, thus guaranteeing untold litigation resulting from this ambiguity.
More importantly, it simply fails to consider the textbook effects of supply and demand. In a free economy, high prices are the reflection of higher demand relative to supply. Any effort to artificially depress prices will inevitably lead to decreasing supplies and can eventually lead to rationing, both of which severely inhibit economic growth.
Our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.
UPDATE: The House passed this bill, 276-146.
