[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 21, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           REPEAL OF GAS TAX

  (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, later today the House will take up the 
repeal of the 4.3-cent gasoline tax. The American people should know 
not only what is in this bill but what is not in this bill. This bill 
mandates repeal of a 4.3-cent gasoline tax, but it does not mandate 
that we as consumers or the American people as consumers will get the 
benefit of that 4.3 cents. I have the bill right here. It says that it 
is the sense of Congress that consumers ought to get that benefit, a 
sense of the Congress. It does not mandate anything.
  Mr. Speaker, we have some experience with this. When the airline 
surtax was allowed to expire recently, that 10 percent was not passed 
on to the consumers. In fact the airlines took at least half of that 
for their own.
  That is what will happen if we do not take stronger action today. The 
oil companies will get the benefit of this tax repeal and not the 
consumer. This bill later today should mandate that all consumers get 
the full benefit of the 4.3-cent tax repeal.

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