HR 4913 IH

To establish a system for the reimbursement of fines levied and collected due to illegal practices engaged in by participants in the petroleum industry to injured consumers based on the consumers' distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

July 20, 2000

Mr. KIND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To establish a system for the reimbursement of fines levied and collected due to illegal practices engaged in by participants in the petroleum industry to injured consumers based on the consumers' distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Got Gas? Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Gasoline prices increased dramatically from the beginning of June 2000, rising over eighty cents per gallon to July 2000.

(2) During that time frame gasoline prices in the Upper Midwestern region of the country increased at twice the rate of the national average, making consumers in this region the most adversely affected by high gasoline prices.

(3) Due to the dramatic and unanticipated rise in gas prices the Federal Trade Commission has undertaken a formal investigation into possible price gouging and other anti-competitive behaviors on the part of the petroleum industry.

(4) If the Federal Trade Commission, during the course of the investigation, uncovers anti-competitive criminal violations, and if fines are levied and collected, the money collected should be returned to the consumers adversely affected, rather than placed in the Federal Treasury.

(5) Efforts to identify and accurately indemnify those consumers affected by anti-competitive practices are important and should be engaged.

(6) Being that the individual identification of harmed consumers is extremely difficult in regard to the purchase of gasoline, a national point based commodity reimbursement policy must be developed to adequately reimburse injured consumers.

SEC. 3. REIMBURSING THE PARTIES INJURED DUE TO ILLEGAL PRACTICES ENGAGED IN BY THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY.

The Department of Justice shall have the authority to develop a consumer reimbursement system of fines levied and collected as a result of any finding of anti-competitive, collusive, or other illegal behavior on the part of participants in the petroleum industry. Compensation shall be distributed in a manner based upon injured consumers' distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Such compensation shall decrease proportionally with the injured consumers' distance from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

For the purpose of this Act:

(1) the term `petroleum industry' shall include refiners, pipeline owners and operators, terminal owners and operators, blend plant owners and operators, oil companies, and other petroleum market participants.

(2) the term `fines levied and collected' can include money recovered as a result of settlement of any case.

(3) the term `injured consumers' means individuals affected by any anti-competitive, collusive, price fixing, price gouging, or other illegal behavior on the part of participants in the petroleum industry.

END