[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  FREEDOM FROM UNFAIR ENERGY LEVY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2000

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation, 
the Freedom from Unfair Energy Levy Act or ``FUEL Act,'' to alleviate 
the impact of current high fuel prices. My legislation would place a 
six-month moratorium on federal motor fuel excise taxes, including the 
18.3 cent per gallon tax consumers pay for gasoline and the 24.3 cent 
per gallon tax on diesel fuel, and eliminate permanently the 4.3 cents 
per gallon tax increase approved in 1993.
  The need for this legislation is evident. Crude oil prices have more 
than doubled in the past 12 months, resulting in the largest gas price 
increase in history. In 1993, when fuel prices were low, Democrats in 
Congress, President Clinton, and a tie-breaking vote by Vice President 
Gore combined to increase federal fuel taxes. Now that prices are high 
and consumers are feeling the pinch, shouldn't we reduce federal fuel 
taxes?
  Some have argued that money from fuel taxes is more useful in 
Washington than in Americans' pockets, helping motorists afford the 
high price of gasoline. In reality, the economic damage caused by high 
fuel prices far outweighs any impact on federal spending that a six-
month moratorium could cause. High fuel prices have the potential to 
bring our strong economy to a grinding halt. In the 1970s, when the 
retail price of gasoline doubled, the U.S. was hit with double digit 
inflation and unemployment rose to over eight percent. Oil prices 
dropped precipitously in the '80s and the U.S. economy greatly 
improved, but, with the crisis in the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991, 
retail prices of gasoline increased nearly 20 cents per gallon. 
Predictably, this price hike corresponded with a recession and a rise 
in unemployment to over seven percent. Congress must work to reduce 
fuel costs if similar economic dislocation is to be avoided.
  This record-breaking increase in the cost of gasoline follows a 
string of misguided Clinton-Gore Administration energy policies. 
Besides supporting the 1993 increase in the gas tax, the Administration 
also locked up the cleanest burning coal in the lower 48 states, which 
could be used to meet America's heating and electricity needs, by 
designating massive amounts of land in Utah as a National Monument. 
Further, the Administration has done nothing to increase U.S. oil 
production. As a result of the Administration's policies, domestic oil 
production is at its lowest point since before World War II.
  With the onset of rising oil prices, the Clinton Administration has 
had the opportunity to reconsider its energy policies. However, the 
Administration's response to the growing national problem of rising oil 
prices has been to target aid to one region, the Northeast, and to only 
one group of people, those receiving federal energy subsidies for home 
heating oil. Other fuel users, including truckers, farmers, and family 
drivers, are realizing no benefits from the Administration's actions. 
In contrast, a moratorium on the collection of the federal fuel tax 
would provide immediate assistance to every American who now bears the 
burden of rising fuel costs.
  The Fuel Act's six-month moratorium on transportation excise taxes 
and permanent elimination of the 4.3 cent increase will immediately 
help Americans weather the current oil price storm that is directly 
impacting their daily lives. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation.

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