Extra $20 billion spent on gasoline
From Times Wire Services
The jump in U.S. gasoline prices this year has drained consumers of an extra $20 billion, or about $146 for each passenger car in the country, the Government Accountability Office has found.
The national price for regular unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.22 a gallon last week, up $1.05 since the beginning of February, Energy Department surveys show.
The added expense is taking money away from consumers’ spending on other goods and services.
“Spending billions more on gasoline constrains consumers’ budgets, leaving less money available for other purchases,” the GAO’s Thomas McCool said in written testimony to a House oversight and investigations subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the cause of the record fuel prices.
