Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on American energy and American jobs, but not lower prices at the pump:



“Reading the morning papers, we learned a couple of key points about the energy proposal introduced yesterday by the Democrat leadership.



“The most important point is that two central provisions of the bill are opposed by two of their own chairmen.



“In this morning’s Albuquerque Journal, we learn that the Democrat Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee doesn’t like the so-called windfall profit tax. He called it ‘arbitrary.’



“We know this bad idea doesn't work. The last time a windfall profits tax was tried, in the 80's, it reduced domestic production and actually increased our reliance on foreign oil — just the opposite of a rational policy to reduce gas prices and make America more energy independent.



“And in The Wall Street Journal, we learn that the senior Senator from New York — the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee — is raising the alarm about another central tenet of the Democrat energy proposal: The energy-futures trading provision.



“The Journal reports the Chairman as saying that the energy-futures trading provision, as written, would send the bulk of the trading that’s now done in America — and thus, American jobs — to markets overseas.



“I agree with both of these chairmen.



“Two years have passed since Congressional Democrats said they had a ‘commonsense plan’ to address high gas prices. This week Senate Democrats finally unveiled it — a plan, as I’ve just mentioned, that their own chairmen don’t like, and that’s predictably high on taxes, more bureaucracy and continued dependency on OPEC.



“Their proposal will do nothing to lower the price of gas. It will only serve to further reduce domestic supplies and increase our dependency on foreign oil at a time when we are trying to make America more energy independent.



“Republicans believe we should increase our supply of American energy to bring gas prices down and create American jobs. Apparently our friends across the aisle believe we should continue to ask OPEC to increase its supply, while opposing additional production of American energy.



“It's a fundamental difference of opinion: we can either proactively increase our domestic production or we can place greater dependence on foreign suppliers and further delay energy independence. Given the choice I would rather produce more American energy and create more American jobs.”



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