[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4863-H4864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TAKING ON PANDEMIC AND WAR PROFITEERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, our economy is still recovering from 2 
years of a once-in-a-generation pandemic that basically shut down our 
economy.
  As Americans stopped going out and spending money, companies slowed 
production not only to meet this change in demand but also to allow for 
social distancing and COVID safety protocols for workers.
  Now, as Americans have started to resume their normal lives, 
companies are struggling to keep up with the increased demand for 
goods. These supply chain issues and a worker shortage has resulted in 
higher prices across the economy.
  These issues do not fully explain some of the skyrocketing prices 
that we are seeing. The pandemic, and the ensuing recovery, have laid 
bare systemic problems in our economy, including market consolidation 
and price gouging.
  As our economy works to recover from the pandemic and the shocks to 
our supply chain, and as the world responds to Putin's reckless 
invasion of Ukraine, food and energy costs have skyrocketed for people 
around the world, including here in America and including in my 
district in Rhode Island.
  While President Biden has taken a number of steps to tackle costs for 
Americans, including releasing millions of barrels of petroleum from 
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, expanding access to gasoline with 15 
percent ethanol, and additional investments in the Low Income Home 
Energy Assistance Program to help those most in need, systemic 
imbalances in our economy are enabling companies to further drive up 
costs.
  Put simply, they are taking advantage of hardworking Americans and 
raising prices just because they can, all for the sake of extraordinary 
profits.
  As Americans are working to recover from 2 years of an unprecedented 
health crisis and the economic downturn it caused, companies are 
reporting record profits as worker pay remains stagnant and families 
feel the squeeze on their pocketbooks.
  This is especially true in the case of gas prices. Exxon, for 
example, is reporting that in the first quarter of 2022, its net 
profits have more than doubled, to $5.5 billion, compared to last year. 
Chevron has reported its highest quarterly profit in nearly a decade.
  These record profits are a direct result of record gas prices. If 
these prices were solely based on inflation or supply chain issues, 
these companies wouldn't be seeing these obscene increases in profits.
  To make matters worse, these record profits aren't being invested in 
new drilling sites to help us deal with energy shortages brought on by 
Putin's invasion of Ukraine but, instead, are going to massive company 
stock buybacks, shareholder dividends, and salary bonuses. This is 
pandemic war profiteering.
  In grocery stores across America, the cost of food continues to rise 
as prices for goods like pork, chicken, and beef have spiked 
dramatically. While some may point solely to inflation for these 
increased prices, there is, once again, a larger systemic problem.
  In the meatpacking industry, for example, the top four companies are 
estimated to control up to 85 percent of the industry. In industries 
all across the economy, the story is the same.
  Three firms control 93 percent of the soft drink industry. Three 
firms control 85 percent of the baby formula industry. Three firms 
control 93 percent of the baby food industry. Four firms control 79 
percent of the beer industry. Three firms control 79 percent of the dry 
pasta industry. And three firms control 73 percent of the cereal 
industry.
  If history has taught us anything, this kind of market consolidation 
hurts product quality, market competition, and worker safety, all the 
things we need to have an equitable economy.
  As simply put by President Biden: ``Capitalism without competition is 
exploitation.''
  So, as we look to recover from this pandemic, and in a way that 
creates an

[[Page H4864]]

economy that works for everyone, for the people of this country, we 
need to hold these monopolistic giants accountable.
  To start, Congress must pass the Big Oil windfall profits tax. 
Companies that have taken advantage of this moment and taken advantage 
of the American people in a time of crisis shouldn't be raking in 
record profits. Those profits should be returned to the consumers that 
they gouged.
  We also should pass H.R. 7688 to be sure that we are taking on, in a 
serious way, price gouging in the energy sector. I am working with 
Congresswoman Schakowsky on an economywide anti-price gouging bill.
  We need to be sure that we are funding the FTC to do this work so it 
can conduct rigorous investigations and look carefully at this kind of 
market consolidation.

  But look, this is about corporate greed, about people taking 
advantage of this moment. As the American people are recovering from a 
very difficult couple of years, we should not, in addition to that, 
allow them to be victims of this kind of price gouging. We have the 
ability to do something about it.
  We have bills that I hope we will bring to the floor. Return what was 
improperly taken from consumers at the gas pump. Return it back to 
them.
  I also thank President Biden for the work that he is doing to bring 
down gas prices, to focus relentlessly on inflation, both for food and 
gas. This is the number one concern of my constituents in Rhode Island, 
and it will remain the number one concern in the weeks ahead as we do 
something to be sure that we are taking on these profiteers, the 
pandemic profiteers and war profiteers.

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