"It's clear price gouging... The oil companies are gouging the American citizenry aggressively, relentlessly, and without any sense of conscience whatsoever"

This quote by Maurice Hinchey is referring to the underhanded practice of cost gouging, which is when companies raise prices of goods or services to an unreasonable degree. In this case, Hinchey is referring to the oil business and also exactly how they are taking advantage of the American public by billing them an extreme amount for their items. He believes that the oil companies are doing this with no regard for the people they are making the most of, which it is wrong and also should not be tolerated. Hinchey is calling for the oil business to be held responsible for their actions and also for the federal government to act to protect the American public from this type of exploitation. He believes that the oil firms should be held to a greater requirement which they should not be allowed to make the most of the public by doing this.