WASHINGTON, DC -- With gas prices in Rhode Island approaching $3.00 a gallon, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) called on President Bush to enact a meaningful gas price gouging policy. In a letter dated April 25, 2006, Reed joined with 35 Democratic senators in asking whether the President supports enactment of a federal price gouging statute and whether his Administration would fairly and vigorously enforce such a law if enacted.The letter noted that last Fall, Deborah Platt Majoras, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who was appointed by the President, testified before Congress that enactment of a federal price-gouging law would not be appropriate, and likely will do consumers more harm than good. She said that an oil companys independent decision to increase price isand should beoutside the purview of the law. Yesterday, President Bush asked the Justice Department and the FTC to send a letter to all 50 states attorney generals asking them to stay on top of the issue. Reed noted that under President Bush, the FTC has a record of disregarding claims of price manipulation by gas retailers. "The White Houses close relationship with Big Oil has harmed the American people," said Reed. "I am concerned that the Presidents recent statements are merely political cover. Yesterday's announcement to investigate possible price gouging isnt enough."In an effort to push for stronger consumer protection measures that will prevent American motorists from getting price gouged at the gas pump this summer, Senator Reed cosponsored The Energy Emergency Consumer Protection Act (S. 1735). This bill would give the President authority to declare national energy emergencies and subject price gougers to new fines and criminal penalties. The legislation also ensures greater market transparency and would allow federal regulators to go after market manipulation of oil and gas prices on an every-day basis. It would further require the federal government to develop a national response plan to prepare our nation for future domestic or global petroleum supply disruptions.According to rhodeislandgasprices.com (http://www.rhodeislandgasprices.com/) the average price of a gallon of gasoline in The Ocean State today is $2.935. That is slightly higher than the national average of $2.909. The average price of a gallon of gas at this time last year was $2.196. In some parts of the state, the price reached as high as $3.23 earlier this week.The average price of gas has increased more than 100% over the course of the Bush presidency, and increased 15% over the last month. And the Energy Information Administration projects that gas prices will rise 25 percent across the nation compared to last summer."The financial strains caused by these record-high gas prices hurt workers and the economy. The average household with children will spend 75 percent more on gasoline costs this year than in 2001. This is money that could be spent on school supplies, food and medicine, and retirement savings," concluded Reed. "We need to act now in order to prevent American motorists from getting price gouged at the gas pump this summer, and provide some degree of protection during any future oil crunches."In addition to Senator Reed, yesterdays letter to the President was also signed by Senators Akaka, Baucus, Bayh, Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Cantwell, Carper, Clinton, Conrad, Dayton, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Feinstein, Johnson, Kennedy, Kohl, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Lincoln, Menendez, Murray, Mikulski, Nelson, Obama, Pryor, Reid, Rockefeller, Salazar, Stabenow, and Wyden.Text of the letter follows:April 25, 2006The PresidentThe White HouseWashington, D.C. 20500Dear Mr. President:Last week, you said that the government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price gouging in the sale of gasoline, and that your Administration will do just that.Last November, however, in a joint hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Deborah Platt Majoras, testified that no Federal statute makes it illegal to charge prices that are considered to be too high, as long as companies set those prices independently. She went on to say that [t]he omission of a Federal price-gouging law is not ... inadvertent, but reflects a sound policy choice....Moreover, in her prepared statement, Chair Majoras suggested that enactment of a federal price-gouging law would not be appropriate, and likely will do consumers more harm than good. She said that an oil companys independent decision to increase price isand should beoutside the purview of the law. It is unclear how your statement that your Administration will take action against price gouging squares with Chair Majorass statements that price gouging is not illegal, that it should not be made illegal because it is both difficult to define and difficult to enforce, and that making it illegal would unnecessarily hurt consumers. Do you, in fact, support enactment of a federal price gouging statute, and will your Administration fairly and vigorously enforce such a law if enacted?Sincerely,