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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2007
CONTACT: Geoff Embler or Matt Mackowiak
Excerpts from Sen. Hutchison’s Floor Speech Opposing the Energy Bill’s Tax Package
WASHINGTON -- Today U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, delivered a floor speech opposing a $28 billion tax increase on domestic oil and gas producers. Below are excerpts from her speech:
“In 1980, congress passed a windfall profits tax. The consequences to the domestic oil industry, to consumers and to our national security were devastating. In the six years that followed that action, domestic oil production dropped by $1.26 billion barrels and imports of foreign oil rose 13%. Today, 60% of our oil comes from foreign countries. The collapse of the domestic oil and gas industry has had a ripple effect on other sectors of the economy, especially banking and real estate. The ‘windfall profits’ tax was terrible for this country and it was repealed. Now we have a tax bill that will have the same effect – 27-28 billion dollars in taxes on energy production.”
“A repeal of the manufacturer’s deduction for refineries. Mr. President, everyone who has looked at the energy crisis knows that it is the lack of refinery capacity that has driven up the demand while we have not driven up the supply. We are making it harder to invest in refineries and no one is doing it. And we need more refineries. So taking away any deductions for refineries is just counterintuitive. We would establish an excise tax of 13% on crude oil and natural gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico.
“It would impose a tax on finished gasoline, $824 million over ten years. It would seem that that's going to increase the price of gasoline at the pump. And it would expose our foreign oil companies to double taxation. Three billion dollars of taxes that would be on foreign oil profits by domestic oil companies and taxing and holding them in the United States.
“I hope that we will not pass this tax bill. A recent review by the heritage foundation estimated that this tax packages combined with other policies in this bill could increase the price of regular unleaded gas to $6.40 a gallon by the year 2016.”
“My amendment would also create the ability to start research on wave and current energy sources, which they are doing in a limited way in Europe right now, using the Gulf of Mexico and our oceans for energy potential.”
“I urge a ‘no’ vote on this tax portion so that we can get down to the business of doing what the purpose of this energy bill was, and that is to increase supply so that we can be less dependent on foreign sources and lower the price of energy in our country.”
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