1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Price Gouging Prevention Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) During a national emergency, state of emergency, or public health emergency, some merchants have taken unfair advantage of consumers by greatly increasing prices for essential consumer goods. (2) While the pricing of consumer goods and other supplies is generally best left to the marketplace under ordinary conditions, when a declared national emergency or state of emergency results in abnormal disruptions of the market, the public interest requires that excessive and unjustified increases in the prices of essential consumer goods be prohibited. (3) To protect citizens from excessive and unjustified increases in the prices charged during or shortly after a declared national emergency or state of emergency for consumer goods and supplies that are vital and necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of consumers is of utmost concern and importance. 3. Prevention of price gouging during emergencies (a) In general During an emergency declaration, including a renewal thereof, and for a period of 30 days after such emergency period ends, it shall be unlawful, in the region or State affected by the emergency declaration, for any seller to sell or offer to sell any consumer good for a price that is more than 10 percent greater than the price charged by similarly situated sellers for those consumer goods during the 120-day period before the date of the declaration of the emergency. (b) Factors for consideration In determining whether a seller has violated subsection (a), there shall be taken into account, with respect to the price at which such seller sold or offered for sale the consumer good, factors that include— (1) whether such increase in price was directly attributable to additional costs of the consumer goods, or directly attributable to additional costs for labor or materials used to provide the consumer goods during the emergency declaration