The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a measure aimed at increasing construction of oil refineries and pipelines Thursday, Sept. 29.

The measure also includes an amendment that requires the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on price gouging by gasoline and diesel fuel retailers. The amendment includes penalties for violators of up to $11,000 per day.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and is currently on a fast track through Congress. It 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 protections 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.