Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement on H.R. 3534, the CLEAR Act, which will destroy American jobs, increase energy costs, and make the United States more dependent on foreign oil.

“Washington should be focused on cleaning up the oil in the Gulf, learning the facts about what went wrong, and holding BP and other negligent parties to account,” said Congressman Price. “But this legislation is just another example of Democrats exploiting a serious crisis to impose their job-killing policies on an unwilling public. The CLEAR ACT imposes a de-facto nationwide moratorium on new offshore oil and gas production and levies a $22 billion tax on domestic energy resources. The outcome of these policies is quite clear indeed. Consumers will pay higher energy costs, American jobs will evaporate, and our economy will become even more dependent on foreign oil.

“Most Americans believe in getting the facts before making decisions, but not this Congress. After all, Speaker Pelosi’s Democrats never let a serious crisis go to waste. House Republicans strongly support efforts to conduct a thorough, independent investigation into the spill. Such an investigation would be the best way to devise common sense reforms to improve safety and prevent future accidents.”