Liberal groups are pressing Democrats to go beyond their current anti-price gouging efforts and more aggressively target energy companies' profits to stave off record gasoline prices.
The House passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act on Thursday, which would authorize the president to declare an energy emergency prohibiting sales of consumer fuel at an"unconscionably excessive" price and charge the Federal Trade Commission with enforcement. But several groups want the party to prioritize a windfall profits tax to cut into companies' earnings during periods of high oil prices.Collin Rees, U.S.
Integrated oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron posted quarterly profits of $5.5 billion and $6.26 billion respectively. While some energy companies have said they are responding to high prices by investing in additional oil production, some have said outright they are sitting tight. Slocum said a windfall profits tax is"actually the more appropriate path here because it is addressing the market failure that is being caused by the situation."
Meanwhile, oil-industry groups and some independent analysts have challenged the gouging theory, arguing that a shortage of refining capacity and strong consumer demand are straining gasoline supply and driving prices upward.