FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2000
CONTACT: Lisette McSoud Mondello
SENATOR HUTCHISON CALLS FOR FEDERAL GAS TAX
SUSPENSION
THAT KEEPS HIGHWAY TRUST FUND WHOLE
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- To help American motorists with the high cost of gasoline this summer, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today renewed her call for a temporary repeal of all federal taxes on gasoline.
"American motorists are paying a high price for failed energy policies," said Senator Hutchison. "We need to break this cycle of energy dependence by getting our domestic oil and gas production back on-line. Until we get a long-term solution to stabilize oil and gas prices, we can give drivers a break during the peak summertime driving months, while assuring that federal funds for highway construction projects continue to flow."
Senator Hutchison was joined today by Senators Spencer Abraham (R-MI), Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) and Rod Grams (R-MN) in calling for legislation that would temporarily lift the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax and 24.4 cents per gallon federal tax on diesel fuel.
This legislation represents the most immediate way to ease the burden of high fuel costs on Americans. As designed, the legislation ensures that the tax cut will have no impact on the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which will remain fully funded throughout the proposed gas tax suspension period.
"What American motorists see at the gas pump today is the direct result of this Administration's failure to reverse our growing dependence on foreign oil," said Senator Hutchison. "July Fourth 2000 is the right time for our declaration of energy independence."
During the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, the United States imported approximately 36 percent of its oil from overseas. In 1993, imports stood at 46 percent. Today, the U.S. imports 56 percent and that is projected to grow to 65 percent 2020.
In order to reverse this dangerous trend, Senator Hutchison recently introduced legislation to revitalize domestic energy production; a long-term solution to the current gas price crisis. The Senator's bill includes a $3 per barrel phased tax credit that is triggered when oil prices fall to between $14-17 per barrel. This would apply only to low-volume ‘marginal' oil wells producing less than 15 barrels per day, encouraging production from existing fields, rather than opening new areas to exploration. It also applies to marginal natural gas wells. These wells can produce 20 percent of our oil needs, the same amount imported from Saudi Arabia.
Senator Hutchison's legislation has been incorporated into the National Energy Security Act of 2000, which aims to cut American dependence on foreign energy to 50 percent by 2010. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has announced his intention to have the bill considered on the Senate floor this year.
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