The jump in U.S. gasoline prices this year has so far drained consumers of an extra $20 billion, or about $146 for each passenger car in the country, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Reuters reported the average national price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.22 this week, and is up $1.05 since the beginning of February.

The added expense is taking money that consumers might otherwise spend on other goods and services.

“Spending billions more on gasoline constrains consumers’ budgets, leaving less money available for other purchases,” the GAO’s Thomas McCool said in written testimony to a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the cause of the record prices.   Like many other energy experts, McCool said the GAO has found that current high pump costs are the result of a large amount of oil refining capacity being offline, strong gasoline demand and lower fuel inventories.

Many lawmakers blame the lack of competition in the oil industry, due to large-scale oil company mergers, for the run-up in gasoline prices.