House fails to move gas pump price gouging bill

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Action on legislation that would assure continuation of the ban on oil and natural gas drilling in most of the country's coastal waters was put off until later this summer after it became increasingly clear that Republican lawmakers may have the votes to lift the drilling moratorium.

As Democrats prepared a string of energy proposals before lawmakers depart for the July 4 holiday recess, Republicans charged that they were being blocked from getting a vote on whether to end the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling.

Last week GOP presidential candidate John McCain as well as President Bush called for ending the blanket prohibition on energy development over 80 percent of the country's offshore waters. Republicans contend that the offshore bans should be ended to allow for more domestic oil and gas production, an argument that has gained support with $130-a-barrel oil raising the cost of everything from food to air travel.

The House Appropriations Committee has postponed consideration of an Interior Department spending bill that included continuation of the offshore drilling ban. Republicans had prepared a proposal that would have ended the ban and allowed oil and gas development 50 miles from shore in all U.S. coastal waters.

"Somebody's afraid that we'll send a message" and lift the drilling ban, Rep. Jerry Lewis of California, the ranking Republican on the Appropriations panel, said Tuesday as the panel focused on other legislation.

The similar Interior spending bill, which also included the offshore drilling ban, was put off in the Senate as well.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders failed to get the two-thirds vote needed to push through a measure that would have made gasoline and diesel fuel price gouging a federal crime, with penalties of up to $2 million for individuals and possible jail time. The vote was 276-146.

The House has passed similar gouging legislation previously, as has the Senate, only to be abandoned. Supporters of the bill argued that gouging is widespread, while opponents said it is not and would be difficult to prove even if it occurred.

Democratic congressional leaders remain strongly opposed to lifting the drilling moratorium, arguing that oil companies already hold leases to 40 million acres of federal waters that they have not moved to develop.

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