[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2463]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                ENERGY TAX HIKE MEANS HIGHER GAS PRICES

  (Mr. SMITH of Nebraska asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, this week the House will, for the 
third time, debate an energy bill which actually raises gas prices for 
the American people, sends manufacturing jobs overseas, and increases 
our reliance on foreign energy. This energy tax hike will raise taxes 
on domestic energy producers, in essence making it more difficult and 
expensive to produce American energy for American consumers.
  As you know, oil has reached and broken the previously untouched 
benchmark of $100 a barrel, and the average national price of gasoline 
has gone up 16 cents in just 13 days. In my State of Nebraska, gas 
prices are hitting $3.14 in Grand Island, and in Scottsbluff they're 
hitting $3.08.
  The American public is deeply worried about the rising cost of 
energy, yet we stand on the verge of making it worse by stubbornly 
going forward with this legislation. It's simple, really; raising taxes 
on American energy leads to higher gas prices and a greater dependency 
on foreign sources of energy.

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