On Oct. 24, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) sent a letter to Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), requesting a joint committee hearing on the cause of the surge in California gas prices.

The request follows another letter on the issue sent last month from House Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to the Federal Trade Commission, in which Waxman raised concerns about market manipulation and price-gouging. Sens. Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) also contacted the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department with the same concerns.

Boxer implied on Oct. 24 that Murkowski and Inhofe were hoping to target clean-air protections as the culprit.