Murphy Statement on the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Winter Park, Fla., issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 7688, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act:

"Like my colleagues, I want to lower the price American families pay at the gas pump. Our constituents are hurting, and we want to make things better for them. But this bill takes the wrong approach. The reason that gas prices are rising is demand exceeds supply, and so the way to bring down prices is to increase supply. If this bill becomes law, it could further reduce supply.

"At best, this bill is a distraction that won't actually address the problem. At worst, it could make the problem more severe. As economist Larry Summers put it, this legislation 'can cause and contrive all sorts of shortages.'

"It's well past time that Congress and the President take concrete action to lower inflation. A good place to start would be to immediately repeal the Trump-era tariffs on a wide range of imported products and to pass a bipartisan version of the China competition bill, which has been pending in Congress for nearly a year and which-if enacted-will help curb inflation and unsnarl supply chains."

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