With gasoline prices continuing to set records nationwide, a new Morning Consult/Politico survey finds broad bipartisan support among voters for a federal government ban on energy price gouging as Democrats push legislation to do just that. Bipartisan support for gas tax holidays also remains high.
Background
Both lawmakers and the Biden administration are considering new measures to reduce gasoline prices as national averages continue setting record highs. Democrats are attempting to rally Republican support for price-gouging legislation in the Senate that would bar “unconscionably excessive” fuel prices and ban price increases during national energy emergencies declared by the president.
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act passed the Democratic-controlled House last week with a narrow 217-207 vote, while Congress remains unable to get federal gas tax holiday legislation past the finish line and onto President Joe Biden’s desk. States including Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New York and Connecticut adopted their own short-term holidays.
Meanwhile, the White House is reportedly considering a suspension of blending rules that would apply to all grades of gasoline in another effort to lower gas prices. The rules help reduce smog in the hotter months by requiring refiners and blenders to avoid using lower-cost components such as butane.
While the Biden administration looks to possibly boost domestic production through oil and gas leases, the Treasury Department is expected to renew Chevron Corp.’s license to operate in Venezuela, four people close to the talks told Reuters. The renewal would see the oil major return to some of the terms it had with the country in 2020, which did not limit the company’s drilling, processing or shipping from Venezuela, the people said.
The May 20-22, 2022, survey was conducted among a representative sample of 2,005 registered voters, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
ncG1vNJzZmiooqR7rrvRp6Cnn5Oku7TBy61lnKedZLavv9Oapa1lmaPBpriOoJisZaCntqSxjKacmqulp7K0edKuqa%2BdqQ%3D%3D