[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7828-H7829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE HIGH PRICE OF GASOLINE DUE TO TAXATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, the top headline in the Washington Post 
late last week said: ``Oil Prices Hit Ten Year High.'' Yet, as I drove 
into work this morning, the CBS Radio National News reported that oil 
prices had gone up another 90 cents a barrel.
  In last Friday's Washington Times, a column in the editorial 
commentary pages carried the headline, ``Gassed and Going Up.''
  This column, written by two economists, said taxes take 43 cents of 
every gallon and that Federal regulations add great additional costs 
and have prevented any new refinery from being built for 25 years. They 
wrote, quote, ``The economy will suffer if the price of oil remains 
high. Our analysis shows that high oil prices will cost the average 
family of four more than $1,300; decrease consumer spending by nearly 
$80 billion and cost almost 500,000 jobs,'' unquote.
  Last Friday night on the CNN Moneyline program, one leading stock 
analyst said higher oil prices are leading us into a recession and much 
lower stock prices. The stock market fell 278 points Friday and Monday, 
mainly due to fears about higher oil prices.
  One of the things I do in the House is chair the Subcommittee on 
Aviation. A few months ago, the Air Transport Association told me that 
each one penny increase in jet fuel costs the airlines $200 million.
  Last week, the Christian Science Monitor newspaper had a front page 
story about protests and some near riots in Britain and throughout 
Europe over high gas prices.
  Sometimes we are told that we are lucky because we are paying much 
less for gas than the Europeans. Well, the reason is that our socialism 
is not as far along as theirs is. In Europe, taxes make up as much as 
80 percent of the cost of gas. They pay the same world oil price as we 
do. They simply have more big government than we do, and we have too 
much.
  Other segments of our economy will be hurt badly besides aviation if 
these oil prices go up even more, as is being predicted. Truckers are 
already feeling the pinch and are leading the protests in Europe. 
Agriculture and tourism and those who heat their homes with home 
heating oil will be greatly affected.
  Who do we have to thank for this situation? Well, in this country 
those who like higher gas prices should write the White House and thank 
the President. The President vetoed legislation in 1995 which would 
have allowed production of oil in one tiny 2,000 to 3,000-acre part of 
the coastal plain of Alaska. The U.S. Geologic Survey has said there is 
approximately 16 to 19 billion barrels of oil there, equal to 30 years 
of Saudi oil. The President also signed an executive order placing 80 
percent of the U.S. outercontinental shelf off-limits for oil 
production, and this is billions more barrels.
  I heard on the radio last week that oil is the most plentiful liquid 
in the world after saltwater. Even with increased usage, we have 
hundreds of years worth of oil available. Yet because this 
administration is controlled by wealthy environmental extremists, we 
cannot produce more oil in this country. The environmentalists even 
want gas to go much higher so everyone but them will have to drive 
less.
  They do not seem to care that the people they hurt the most are 
lower-income and working families. Most environmental extremists seem 
to come from wealthy families who are not hurt when prices go up and 
jobs are destroyed. Then, too, some of these environmental groups 
probably receive big contributions from the oil companies, the shipping 
companies, the OPEC countries and others who get rich if we do not 
produce more U.S. oil.
  Due to EPA and other Federal regulations, I am told that 36 U.S. oil 
refineries have closed just since 1980. Because this administration is 
held captive by environmental extremists, our present oil policy 
consists of nothing more than to beg the OPEC countries.
  Well, we need to do more than beg. We endanger not only our own 
economy but also our national security by being too dependent on 
foreign oil. The price of oil could be reduced dramatically if the 
President would tell OPEC that we are going to produce more oil 
domestically and really mean it. He needs also to tell the OPEC 
countries that their foreign aid will be ended if they continue to 
gouge us on oil prices. I have co-sponsored the bill of the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) to cut off IMF loans to OPEC countries 
which raise their oil prices, but the liberals in Congress will 
probably not let us pass this bill.

[[Page H7829]]

  Begging OPEC will get us nowhere. We need strong leadership, Madam 
Speaker, from the White House; but we will not get it. We also need to 
wake up and realize that the Sierra Club and some of these other 
environmental groups have now gone so far to the left that they make 
even socialists look conservative.

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