By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Gasoline prices continue to rise. And that has some people demanding that the government intervene. Two members of the Western New York delegation have differing opinions on what the government can do.
As of late Friday afternoon, gasoline prices ranged from a low of $1.77 at a couple of outlets in Lockport to a high of $1.93 in East Aurora. It's just a matter of time before the price of a gallon of regular unleaded tops $2. But Congressman Amo Houghton says there isn't really anything the federal government can do to stop the rising tide.
"Congress is not going to freeze the price," Houghton said. "Congress is not going to have any impact."
Over the weekend, Congressman Tom Reynolds called for a temporary halt to shipments of oil into the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves. By putting more oil back into the market, Reynolds argues, prices would fall. But Houghton is less optimistic that prices will be going down any time soon.
"The fact is we're going to be in a crunch this summer," Houghton said. "We've got to get ready for it. I suppose there will be gas stations that are going to try and take advantage of every nickel they can get while others are going to be more competitive."
Houghton points out that gasoline would need to rise to nearly $3 a gallon just to match the inflation-adjusted price of 1981.