I hear from hundreds of Kentuckians every week. Be it through phone, mail, email or in person, people in the First Congressional District have plenty to say and plenty on their minds. The one thing I hear increasingly is that the skyrocketing costs of gasoline and other types of fuel are simply out of control.
I could not agree more. Gasoline prices and energy costs across the country have hit historic highs amidst an economic slow-down that has forced most Kentucky families to tighten their belts. The national average price for a gallon of gas has risen above a staggering $4 a gallon. What’s worse is that many experts believe gas prices could reach as high as $5 a gallon in the coming months.
I recognize that many Kentucky families will be challenged to pay these prices and put food on the table at the same time. I have worked consistently to bring these prices down, pushing for the development of other fuel sources to make our country less dependent on gasoline. I am doing my best in Washington to enact sound energy policies which will produce American made energy and, as a result, drive down soaring energy costs. Most recently I have introduced a bill, the End the Pain at the Pump Act, which would provide a tax rebate roughly equivalent to the price of 1/3 of a gallon of gas for workers who use their personal vehicles to drive to and from work. The legislation would also grow the country’s fuel supply by expediting the approval of refinery permits and opening additional areas to environmentally responsible drilling.
This webpage will provide you with helpful information on my efforts in Washington to drive down the costs of fuel, the factors driving up energy costs as well as helpful tips on how to save money on gasoline. Rest assured, I will continue to fight for residents of the First Congressional District to drive down energy costs and provide a long-term solution to our nation’s energy crisis.
U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01)
Please click on the links below to access information regarding gasoline prices. You can also visit the Department of Energy’s website on gas prices at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/gasprices for more information.
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Whitfield Unveils Legislation to Lower Gas Prices and Secure America’s Energy Independence
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield is leading an effort in Washington to ease the burden of skyrocketing gasoline prices on Kentucky drivers, introducing legislation which would provide a tax rebate to commuters who have been forced to pay record-breaking prices at the pump and provide a long-term solution to the nation’s energy crisis.
“Drivers in the First Congressional District simply cannot afford to spend 60, 80 or even 100 dollars every time they pull up to the pump,” Whitfield said. “The time has come to take action and provide American drivers with immediate relief from soaring gas prices as well as a long-term plan to grow our nation’s energy supply.”
Whitfield introduced the End the Pain at the Pump Act. The bill would immediately provide a refundable tax credit, roughly equivalent to the price of 1/3 of a gallon of gas, for workers who use their personal vehicles to drive to and from work.
Whitfield’s bill will give commuters a rebate based on the number of miles they drive to and from work daily. Drivers would multiply the number of miles they commute by a formula that utilizes one-third of the reimbursement rate allowed for driving for charitable work, equating to a tax credit of about $1.12 per gallon of gasoline (or diesel).
Using the national average commuting distance of 35 miles, the average commuter would receive a rebate of approximately $377 annually.
In order to receive the rebate, commuters will file the necessary driving information as part of their federal tax return. Drivers will not need to submit receipts, rather they will simply calculate their rebate based on the number of miles they commute to and from work. The legislation will limit relief to middle-class and low-income earners who need it the most. In general, every commuter who was eligible to receive a payment from the Economic Stimulus Package will be eligible for this tax credit.
To provide a long-term solution to the nation’s energy crisis, Whitfield’s legislation would grow the country’s fuel supply. The Congressman proposes opening areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf to environmentally responsible drilling that will yield vast supplies of oil without harming the environment or wildlife. In addition, the Congressman’s bill will expedite the approval of refinery permits in order to get more refineries up and running and process more oil.
“Right now, the liberal Democratic leadership in Congress is holding hostage 117 billion barrels of oil and 651 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the American people,” Whitfield said. “These resources are sitting untapped while Kentuckians pay record-breaking prices at the pump. It is time to utilize these resources in an environmentally responsible way for the American taxpayer.”
It is estimated that ANWR holds 11-13 billion barrels of oil and the Outer Continental Shelf 8.5 billion barrels of oil and 29.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The normal taxes levied against the production of oil at these two sites will yield approximately $191 billion for the federal government, which will be used to offset the costs of Whitfield’s proposal.
The legislation will also require hedge fund managers, who invest huge amounts of money in speculative markets and help drive up the price of fuel, and hedge funds themselves to pay their fair share of taxes. It is widely noted that individuals who manage hedge funds do not pay their fair share of taxes on earned income as compared to other taxpayers, nor do the funds themselves pay a fair share of taxes on their activities as compared to other businesses. By closing this loophole and collecting these taxes, Whitfield’s legislation will both bring in additional revenue to the government and avoid increasing the national debt.
Whitfield’s proposal comes on the heels of a steady rise in energy costs which has left the national average price for a gallon of gas at a historic $3.75. Diesel prices have also soared, hitting more than $4 a gallon in many parts of the country. This onslaught of rising fuel prices has been brought on by a number of factors. Most notably, limited refinery capacity and the failure of the Congress to allow domestic oil and gas exploration have combined to drive up prices.
“While it is important that we promote conservation of gasoline and energy resources right now, not everyone has the luxury of curtailing their driving, particularly working people who drive back and forth to their jobs every day,” Whitfield said. “With experts predicting gasoline prices to reach as high as $4 a gallon this summer, my legislation will make it possible for more Kentuckians to be able to afford to get to work.”
Additionally, Whitfield sponsored twelve pieces of legislation today which will diversify the nation’s energy portfolio and increase our domestic fuel supply. Included in this American-made energy package are provisions to encourage the development of alternative fuels such as ethanol, coal-to liquids and nuclear power; discourage energy market speculators from driving up the cost of petroleum; repeal Section 526 of the 2007 Energy Bill which bars the government from purchasing abundant alternative fuels; and encourage the building of new domestic refineries.
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Whitfield Works to Drive Down Prices at the Pump
WASHINGTON – Heeding the call of Kentucky drivers paying record-breaking prices at the pump, U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) voted to increase the nation’s oil supply and drive down the cost of gasoline.
“Gasoline prices across the country have hit historic highs amidst an economic slow-down that has forced most Kentucky families to tighten their belts,” Whitfield said. “Today, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Kentucky was $3.73. This is simply unacceptable and I plan to fight to lower these prices and ease the financial burden on First District families and drivers.”
Whitfield voted in favor of H.R. 6022, a bill which suspends the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The legislation will free up more oil to flow into the open market and, as a result, reduce the cost of gasoline. While there is no way to tell exactly how much this legislation will lower gas prices, many experts say it could reduce the cost by 5 to 24 cents a gallon. Whitfield said this is one of several steps needed to address rising fuel costs.
The SPR, an emergency petroleum store maintained by the United States Department of Energy, is the largest emergency supply in the world. The government obtains this oil in lieu of royalties that would otherwise be paid by producers who pump it from federal land. The bill Whitfield voted for today would temporarily halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the SPR. Once the energy market stabilizes and the price of a barrel of oil drops to $75 or less for a 90 day period, the acquisition of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will resume.
The United State’s SPR has the capacity to hold 726 million barrels of oil. Currently, the reserve is 97% full holding 701 million barrels, equal to nearly two months of oil imports.
Whitfield recognizes that while this temporary suspension will provide some limited relief at the pump for Kentucky drivers, a long-term solution is needed to combat the nation’s energy crisis. For this reason, Whitfield is working with some of his colleagues to craft legislation to provide both immediate relief for consumers and a far-sighted plan to increase America’s energy supply for the long-run.
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Diversify U.S. Energy Supply, Lower Prices at the Pump
Whitfield Fights to Lessen U.S. Dependence on Oil from the Mid-East
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield stood up for Kentucky drivers paying exorbitant prices at the pump by co-sponsoring legislation which would decrease U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle-East and encourage the exploration of alternative fuels.
Whitfield co-sponsored a bill that would strike Section 526 from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which was signed into law last December. This little known provision was buried into the Energy Act and poses a serious threat to increasing the supply, security, and diversity of American energy.
“During a time when soaring gasoline and energy costs have hit American families hard, leaders in Congress should be pursuing a comprehensive energy plan that puts real alternative and renewable fuels in the hands of consumers to lower costs,” Whitfield said. “Instead, the Majority party in Congress has enacted legislation which actually promotes our dependency on oil from the Middle East and discourages the exploration of alternative fuels. Kentuckians simply cannot fill their gas tanks on empty rhetoric and irresponsible policy.”
Section 526 bars the government from purchasing alternative fuels for vehicles and planes if those fuels have higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels. Many of these fuels prohibited under the provision have the potential to cheapen and diversify our nation’s energy supply, such as those produced by clean-coal processes.
The United States possesses enough coal to power the country for the next 250 years and much of this supply lies in Kentucky’s own backyard. With this massive resource at the U.S.’s fingertips, Whitfield says it is irresponsible not to support the careful development of clean coal technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, coal-to-liquid, and coal-to-gas. The provision included in the Energy Act, however, will make pursuing these technologies much more difficult and send a message internationally that the United States is not interested in promoting its most abundant energy source.
Additionally, the U.S. government buys petroleum and other fuel from many refiners that use a combination of technologies that may not all meet the emissions standard outlined in Section 526. One such supplier is Canada, who produces fuel from tar sands. Canada’s tar sands, which are a naturally occurring mixture of sand or clay, water and extra heavy crude oil, are the second largest oil reserve in the world behind Saudi Arabia. They release more carbon emission when refining into fuels that can be used here in the U.S. than crude oil coming from the Middle East. Therefore, processing this fuel from Canada may produce more carbon emissions than oil coming from the Middle East.
However, tar sand is a valuable source of energy which will inevitably be bought and used by another country or business. A major consequence of Section 526 is that the U.S. can no longer buy Canada’s tar sand oil and, as a result, is forced to become more dependent on oil from the Middle East, a much more hostile area of the world. Additionally, from a global emissions standpoint, the U.S. would be doing nothing to reduce global carbon emissions as Canada’s tar sands will inevitably be utilized elsewhere in the world.
“Like most Kentuckians, I have concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, but Americans expect and deserve a comprehensive energy policy which strengthens our nation’s energy security and reduces prices over the long-term,” Whitfield said. “A law that increases our dependency on oil from the Middle East and, in turn, discourages the development of alternative fuels serves neither of these goals.”
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Whitfield to Help Lead Congressional Hearing Examining Energy Crisis
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield has been tapped to help lead a congressional hearing examining speculation in the energy market, which many analysts believe is driving up the costs of petroleum and producing record-breaking prices at the pump by as much as 38 percent.
“There are a number of factors contributing to the astronomical prices folks in the First Congressional District are being forced to pay to fill up their gas tanks and heat and cool their homes – and this hearing will examine whether speculators in the oil market are one of them,” Whitfield said. “This hearing will provide an important opportunity to examine the effects of manipulation and speculation in the energy market and consider what steps are necessary to drive down prices.”
Whitfield will help lead a hearing being held on Monday, June 23rd by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing is entitled “Energy Speculation: Is Greater Regulation Necessary to Stop Price Manipulation – Part II.” The hearing will examine the effects of manipulation and speculation in futures markets and consider whether additional regulation is necessary to prevent market manipulation.
Futures contracts for energy are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), which is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Due to a loophole included in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, large energy traders—those with at least $10 million in net worth—can trade economically-linked contracts on largely unregulated “exempt commercial markets,” most notably the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
By trading on unregulated “dark markets,” traders can avoid CFTC’s rules, which are in place to prevent price distortions or supply squeezes. This makes it difficult for regulators to detect excessively large positions, which could lead to price manipulation. Whitfield has sponsored legislation to discourage energy market speculators and prevent excess speculation in currently unregulated energy markets.
Whitfield has been leading an effort in Washington to ease the burden of skyrocketing gasoline prices on Kentucky drivers by introducing legislation which would provide a tax rebate to commuters who have been forced to pay record-breaking prices at the pump and provide a long-term solution to the nation’s energy crisis. Additionally, Whitfield has sponsored legislation which would encourage the development of alternative fuels such as ethanol, coal-to liquids and nuclear power; repeal Section 526 of the 2007 Energy Bill which bars the government from purchasing abundant alternative fuels; and encourage the building of new domestic refineries.
