2009 Energy Bill Will Punish Oil Consumers

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2009 Energy Bill Will Punish Oil Consumers

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American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard issued back-to-back statements today related to the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

About the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate on the measure, Gerard said the following:

“The study confirms the bill discriminates against ordinary Americans who depend on cars, trucks, trains and airplanes and will be massively costly.  The $846 billion price tag on emission allowances – borne disproportionately by oil consumers – will drive up costs of producing and refining gasoline, diesel and other fuel products while doing nothing to protect fuel consumers, including American families, trucking, the airlines, the construction industry and many other businesses that rely on oil to make or transport products.  Based on allowance costs in the study, cost impacts could be as much as 77 cents per gallon for gasoline, 83 cents per gallon for jet fuel, and 88 cents for diesel fuel.  This is what happens when market-based regulation is abandoned in favor of picking winners and losers.  Putting most of the burden on one sector also helps explain why the legislation promises to be a job killer.”

About the impending mark-up of the oil and gas title of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill, he said this:

“While we applaud the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for addressing the serious energy challenges America faces, we urge the panel to ensure that any final bill include provisions to provide real access to domestic oil and natural gas resources, leading to real production to meet the needs of the American consumer and industry.

“Any bill should include the lifting of the remaining moratoria on the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and provide assurance that there will not be policy changes that would slow the progress of the five-year oil and gas leasing plan that covers new areas opened last year that had been off-limits for decades. Developing those areas could result in more than a trillion dollars of new government revenues and the creation of thousands of new jobs, while enhancing our nation’s energy security.

“Coastal states should be given a portion of the revenues associated with the development of oil and gas off their shores because that production will benefit all Americans in terms of revenues, additional jobs and greater domestic energy supply.”

If you’re unwilling to pay higher taxes on everything you buy, including the fuel that heats and cools your home and powers your vehicles, CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS in Washington, D.C., and demand they oppose this dangerous and costly legislation.

-- Bob McCarty Writes