1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Disaster and Emergency Pricing Abuse Prevention Act . 2. Definitions In this section: (a) Commission The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission. (b) Essential goods or services The term essential goods or services means goods or services that may be used to preserve, protect, or sustain the health, safety, or welfare of members of the public from potential harms resulting from a natural disaster, a pandemic, or the circumstances giving rise to a state of emergency. (c) Natural disaster The term natural disaster means a disaster, catastrophe, or emergency, including flood, fire, earthquake, storm, or other serious act of nature, which threatens the health, safety, or welfare of the public. (d) Person The term person means an individual or entity, its directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns, including any entity the person controls, and the respective directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns of each. (e) State of emergency The term state of emergency means any state of emergency or disaster declared by the President or by the government of any State or territory of the United States. (f) Unconscionably excessive price The term unconscionably excessive price means a price that represents a gross disparity between the price of the essential good or service that is the subject of an offer or transaction during, or in anticipation of, a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emergency and the average price at which such essential good or service was offered in the ordinary course of business prior to any public anticipation of a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emergency. 3. Federal Trade Commission enforcement against price gouging (a) Violation Selling, or offering for sale, essential goods and services, in or affecting commerce, at an unconscionably excessive price during, or in anticipation of, a natural disaster, pandemic, or state of emergency, shall constitute an