Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act
This bill expands prohibitions against manipulating fuel markets, establishes a body within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to monitor fuel markets to ensure competitiveness, and addresses related issues.
Prohibitions against the manipulation of wholesale fuel markets or reporting false (or misleading) information shall apply to actions related to crude oil and transportation fuel, defined in this bill to include gasoline, distillate fuels, jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel. Currently, such prohibitions only apply to crude oil, gasoline, and petroleum distillates.
The bill further expands the prohibition on reporting false information to include such information that (1) concerns the supply of, operational actions related to, or output related to wholesale fuel markets; (2) is not required to be reported by law; or (3) affects the analyses or data compiled by a private sector price-reporting agency.
The bill also increases the maximum civil penalty for violating these prohibitions from $1 million to $2 million for each day of the violation.
Furthermore, the bill establishes within the FTC the Transportation Fuel Monitoring and Enforcement Unit. The unit must continuously and comprehensively collect and analyze fuel market data to support competitive market practices, identify market manipulation and other unfair methods of competition, and facilitate enforcement of competition-related statutes.
The Energy Information Administration within the Department of Energy must collect data to facilitate transparent and competitive transportation fuel markets, determine adherence to sanctions, and protect consumers.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7800 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7800
To ensure transparent and competitive transportation fuel markets in
order to protect consumers from unwarranted price increases.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2022
Mr. Levin of California (for himself and Mr. Pappas) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure transparent and competitive transportation fuel markets in
order to protect consumers from unwarranted price increases.
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 ``Transportation Fuel Market
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PROHIBITIONS ON MARKET MANIPULATION AND FALSE
INFORMATION PROVISIONS OF THE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND
SECURITY ACT OF 2007.
(a) Application to Transportation Fuel.--Subtitle B of title VIII
of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17301 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 811, by striking ``gasoline or petroleum
distillates'' and inserting ``or transportation fuel'';
(2) in section 812--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``gasoline or petroleum distillates'' and
inserting ``or transportation fuel''; and
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``, gasoline, or
petroleum distillates'' and inserting ``or
transportation fuel''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 816. DEFINITION OF TRANSPORTATION FUEL.
``In this subtitle, the term `transportation fuel' includes
gasoline, distillate fuels (including heating oil), jet fuel, aviation
gasoline, and biofuel (including ethanol, biomass-based diesel and
distillates, and renewable blending components).''.
(b) Prohibition on False Information.--Section 812 of the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17302) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``wholesale'' and inserting
``supply of, operational actions related to, output
related to, or wholesale''; and
(B) by striking ``to a Federal department or
agency'';
(2) in paragraph (1), by adding ``and'' at the end;
(3) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraph
(3), as amended by subsection (a), as paragraph (2); and
(4) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by striking ``the
person intended the false or misleading data to affect data
compiled by the department or agency'' and inserting ``the
false or misleading information reported by the person affected
analyses or data compiled by a Federal department or agency or
a private sector price-reporting agency''.
(c) Enforcement.--Section 813(a) of the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17303(a)) is amended by striking ``This
subtitle'' and inserting ``Except as otherwise provided in section 814,
this subtitle''.
(d) Penalties.--Section 814 of the Energy Independence and Security
Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17304) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``$1,000,000'' and
inserting ``$2,000,000''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45)'' and inserting
``section 5(m)(1)(A) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A))''.
SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION FUEL MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT WITHIN THE
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment of the Transportation Fuel Monitoring and
Enforcement Unit.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall establish within the
Commission the Transportation Fuel Monitoring and Enforcement
Unit (in this section referred to as the ``Unit'').
(2) Duties of the unit.--
(A) Primary responsibility.--The primary
responsibility of the Unit shall be to assist the
Commission in protecting the public interest by
continuously and comprehensively collecting,
monitoring, and analyzing crude oil and transportation
fuel market data in order to--
(i) support transparent and competitive
market practices;
(ii) identify any market manipulation,
reporting of false information, use of market
power to disadvantage consumers, or other
unfair method of competition; and
(iii) facilitate enforcement of penalties
against persons in violation of relevant
statutory prohibitions.
(B) Specific duties.--In order to carry out the
responsibility under subparagraph (A), the Unit shall
assist the Commission in carrying out the following
duties:
(i) Receiving, compiling, and analyzing
relevant buying and selling activity in order
to identify and investigate anomalous market
trends and suspicious behavior.
(ii) Determining whether excessive
concentration or exclusive control of energy-
related infrastructure may allow or result in
anti-competitive behaviors.
(iii) Gathering evidence of wrongdoing
against any person in violation of the
statutory prohibitions on market manipulation
and false information established in, and
consistent with, subtitle B of title VIII of
the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007, as amended by section 2, or any other
applicable provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45 et seq.).
(iv) Obtaining a data-sharing agreement
with the Energy Information Administration that
includes the data collected in accordance with
section 205(n) of the Department of Energy
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7135), as amended
by section 4.
(v) Obtaining data-sharing agreements with
the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and as
necessary and practicable, State energy offices
or commissions, and relevant public and private
data sources that will allow the Commission to
receive and archive information on--
(I) crude oil and transportation
fuel buying and selling activity;
(II) individual physical and
financial market positions of market
participants regarding crude oil and
transportation fuel;
(III) refinery output, capacity,
and inventory levels of crude oil and
transportation fuel;
(IV) imports and exports of crude
oil and transportation fuel within
regions and at levels that could impact
prices faced by consumers;
(V) public announcements by energy
companies of planned pricing or output
decisions regarding crude oil and
transportation fuel; and
(VI) other relevant market
information that will facilitate the
gathering of evidence described in
clause (iii), including sufficient
market information necessary to monitor
for cross-market manipulations that may
include multiple financial and physical
market positions.
(vi) Any other information determined
appropriate by the Commission to carry out the
responsibility under subparagraph (A).
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--Other than in subsection (a)(2)(B)(v), the
term ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.
(2) Transportation fuel.--The term ``transportation fuel''
includes gasoline, distillate fuels (including heating oil),
jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel (including ethanol,
biomass-based diesel and distillates, and renewable blending
components).
(c) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations to
carry out this section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary for each
of fiscal years 2022 through 2027 to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION FUEL MARKET TRANSPARENCY.
Section 205 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C.
7135) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(n) Transportation Fuel Market Transparency.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Energy company.--The term `energy company'
means a person (as defined in section 11(e) of the
Energy Supply and Environmental Coordination Act of
1974 (15 U.S.C. 796(e))) that--
``(i) owns or controls commercial amounts
of crude oil or transportation fuel; or
``(ii) is engaged in--
``(I) exploration for, or
development of, crude oil;
``(II) extraction of crude oil;
``(III) refining or otherwise
processing crude oil or transportation
fuel;
``(IV) commercial storage of crude
oil or transportation fuel;
``(V) transportation by any means
of commercial amounts of crude oil or
transportation fuel; or
``(VI) wholesale or retail
distribution of crude oil or
transportation fuel.
``(B) Transportation fuel.--The term
`transportation fuel' means--
``(i) gasoline;
``(ii) distillate fuels, including heating
oil;
``(iii) jet fuel;
``(iv) aviation gasoline; and
``(v) biofuel, including ethanol, biomass-
based diesel and distillates, and renewable
blending components.
``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to
collect data necessary to facilitate transparent and
competitive transportation fuel markets, determine adherence to
relevant international sanctions, and protect consumers.
``(3) Surveys.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall conduct
surveys of energy companies to collect detailed and
timely information on United States crude oil and
transportation fuel markets.
``(B) Exemption.--The Administrator shall exempt an
energy company from participating in the surveys
conducted under subparagraph (A) if the energy company
has a de minimis market presence or impact, as
determined by the Administrator.
``(4) Data collected.--
``(A) In general.--The surveys conducted under
paragraph (3) shall collect information on a national,
regional, State, and energy company basis.
``(B) Information.--The surveys conducted under
paragraph (3) shall collect the following information
with respect to crude oil and transportation fuel, as
applicable:
``(i) The quantity of crude oil and
transportation fuel imported and exported.
``(ii) The quantity of crude oil and
transportation fuel refined, stored, and
transported.
``(iii) The quantity of crude oil and
transportation fuel entering final retail and
commercial commerce.
``(iv) The quantity of crude oil and
transportation fuel purchased and sold at any
upstream point between energy companies,
including off-exchange bilateral sales and
sales between subsidiaries of the same energy
company.
``(v) Market price data for the
transactions described in clauses (i) through
(iv).
``(vi) Submissions to relevant price
reporting entities.
``(vii) Any other such data, analyses, or
evaluations that the Administrator determines
is necessary to achieve the purpose described
in paragraph (2).
``(C) Origin of fuel.--In obtaining the information
described in subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, track and publish
the country of original production of crude oil and
transportation fuel that may have been resold, refined,
blended, stored, or otherwise been exchanged or sold
before being imported or exported into the United
States.
``(D) Other sources.--The Administrator may, when
practicable and determined reliable by the
Administrator, obtain information described in
subparagraph (B) from private price publishers and
providers of trade processing services.
``(5) Minimizing reporting burdens.--The Administrator
shall seek to minimize any burdens on energy companies in
reporting information to the Administrator, including by
automating data submission practices for data collected under
the surveys conducted under paragraph (3).
``(6) Public distribution.--
``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent
practicable, subject to this paragraph, the
Administrator shall consistently and promptly make
publicly available analyses of the results of the data
collected pursuant to this subsection in a form and
manner easily adaptable for public use and machine
analysis.
``(B) Geographical specificity.--Analyses published
under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) shall be geographically specific
enough to provide meaningful differentiation
between fuel markets; and
``(ii) shall not organize geographical data
in the form of Petroleum Administration for
Defense Districts or other geographic
aggregations lacking sufficient resolution to
ascertain regionally specific market trends or
disparities.
``(C) Nondisclosure.--Any analysis published under
subparagraph (A) shall not disclose matters exempted
from mandatory disclosure under section 552(b) of title
5, United States Code.
``(7) Data-sharing agreements.--
``(A) Federal trade commission.--Notwithstanding
subchapter III of chapter 35 of title 44, United States
Code (commonly known as the `Confidential Information
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018'),
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Administrator shall enter into a
data-sharing agreement with the Federal Trade
Commission that shall allow any information collected
pursuant to this subsection to be requested by and
transferred to the Federal Trade Commission without
limitation or delay.
``(B) Other federal agencies.--The Administrator
may enter into data-sharing agreements with other
Federal agencies that have energy-related policy
decision-making responsibilities, including the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out
this section such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2027.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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