President Asks Federal And State Regulators To Investigate Illegal Price Manipulation In Gasoline Industry

Today President Bush announced that he is "directing the Department of Justice to work with the FTC and the Energy Department to conduct inquiries into illegal manipulation or cheating related to the current price of gasoline." This is in addition to a previous directive to the FTC to investigate whether there was any manipulation of gasoline supply and prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with this announcement, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FTC Commissioner Deborah Platt Majoras issued a letter to all fifty state attorneys general (who have primary authority over price gouging) urging them to vigorously enforce state law "against any anticompetitive, anticonsumer conduct in the petroleum industry." The letter stated: "Consumers around the nation have expressed concerns about what they have perceived as anticompetitive or otherwise unfair conduct by the world's major oil companies."

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