Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, wants to increase refining capacity in the U.S. in the wake of the pummeling given to Gulf Coast refineries by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

“Hurricane Katrina has taught us some harsh lessons,” Barton said in a news release. “If we expect gasoline to remain affordable for America’s working people, we absolutely must build additional refinery capacity.”

To that end, Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has drafted the Gasoline for America’s Security Act of 2005, aimed at encouraging the construction of new refineries and expanding existing ones.

The bill, currently on a fast track through Congress, includes provisions that would relax Clean Air Act regulations, streamline refinery and pipeline permits and give the Federal Trade Commission new authority to investigate price gouging.

Democrats, meanwhile, are complaining that the bill is getting such a fast push that they have had no time to thoroughly examine it. Critics of the bill claim that it unnecessarily rolls back environmental regulations while at the same time promoting the oil industry, which has already posted record profits this year.

No new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976, and the number of operating refineries has dropped from 324 in 1981 to 148 today, according to the bill.

The bill is scheduled to go to the House floor by Oct. 9.