[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      LET THOSE WHO PAID BE REPAID

  (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the on-going 
gasoline price crisis and the proposed repeal of the 4.3-cent gas tax.
  I would like to offer my three-point plan for this repeal.
  First, we must guarantee that this repeal is directly returned to the 
consumer in the form of lower prices at the gas pump. We must not 
simply feed the profit margin of big oil companies. We cannot repeal 
this fee and naively assume that gas prices will decline accordingly. 
Let those who paid be repaid.
  Second, we must pay for this repeal. I have a bill, H.R. 1497, the 
Insurance Tax Fairness and Small Company Economic Growth Act, that will 
collect almost $2 billion every year, simply by closing a tax loophole 
that only benefits the 18 largest mutual life insurance companies.
  Third, this Congress must provide answers for the American people 
about the cause of these price increases. Congress must hold hearings 
and conduct an investigation. The American people deserve answers from 
their elected officials and it is our duty to provide those answers.
  Mr. Speaker, I say again, the consumer must benefit from our 
actions--let those who paid be repaid.

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