President Obama announced Tuesday that he had taken steps to make sure behind-the-scenes regulatory forces aren’t artificially raising the price of gas for Americans. In addition to steps taken by the administration, Obama urged Congress to pass a series of measures to help regulators eliminate fraud and manipulation from energy markets.
Today, we’re announcing new steps to strengthen oversight of energy markets. Things that we can do administratively, we are doing. And I call on Congress to pass a package of measures to crack down on illegal activity and hold accountable those who manipulate the market for private gain at the expense of millions of working families.
Obama outlined different ways to crack down on oil price manipulations:
First, Congress should provide immediate funding to put more cops on the beat to monitor activity in energy markets…
Second, Congress should increase the civil and criminal penalties for illegal energy market manipulation and other illegal activities…
Third, Congress should give the agency responsible for overseeing markets new authority by making sure that traders post appropriate margins which means that they have the money to make good on their trades.
Obama said he has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to work with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibovitz and other enforcement agencies “to make sure that acts of manipulation, fraud or other illegal activity are not behind increases in the price that consumers pay at the pump.”
