Congressman Peter Welch and his fellow New Hampshire Democrats Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter lost an attempt to resurrect a bill to punish price-gouging at the gas pump.
Welch, Hodes, and Shea-Porter voted yesterday for the bill.
Welch says Vermonters and Americans are being squeezed by high gas prices, and companies hiding behind high oil prices to charge even more for gas should be punished.
But the House vote fell short of the two-thirds needed to push through a measure to make gasoline and diesel fuel price gouging a federal crime. It would have carried penalties of up to $2 million for individuals and possible jail time.