|
Energy secretary opposes lifting gasoline tax Growing number of lawmakers want to suspend federal gasoline excise tax until prices at the pump recede H. Josef Hebert Associated Press Writer
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said in early March he opposes temporarily lifting a 4.3-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax because of high fuel prices, but said the president “will consider all options” to bring relief to consumers.
A growing number of lawmakers have begun gauging whether there is enough support in Congress to suspend the federal gasoline excise tax imposed in 1993 until prices at the pump recede.
The proposal has received a cool reception among lawmakers involved in writing tax legislation, but some Republican leaders in Congress have embraced the idea, noting that the tax was imposed when Democrats held the majority — and that Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-braking vote.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., joined the chorus against the tax in early March, calling it the “Gore gas tax.” The Senate began its two-week recess in early March before considering the issue further.
Bush says Clinton has no overall energy strategy GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush said in Florida that he is considering calling for the suspension of a 4.3-cent-a-gallon “Clinton-Gore” gas tax hike to combat high fuel prices.
The Texas governor said the administration should be blamed for prices that are approaching $2 per gallon because it has squandered the goodwill built by his father in the Persian Gulf War and has no overall energy policy.
As president, Bush said he would urge Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Mexico to “open the spigots” and remind them of the U.S. role in the 1991 Gulf War and of its economic bailout of Mexico.
Richardson, appearing on March 5 television talk shows, noted that Republicans were divided on the gas-tax matter, and said he didn’t think suspending the tax would help because the problem is scarcity of oil.
Would take millions out of highway fund “You would be taking $600 million a month out of the highway trust fund,” said Richardson on Fox “News Sunday.”
Later appearing on CNN’s “Late Edition,” Richardson said of reducing the federal gas tax: “I don’t think that will help because the main problem is scarcity of supplies.”
Still, he did not rule out the White House going along with a tax suspension, should Congress want it. “The president will consider all options to bring relief to the American consumers,” said Richardson.
The 4.3-cent tax passed by Congress in 1993 increased the federal excise tax to 18.4 cents a gallon. In addition, most states have their own gasoline excise tax, with amounts varying across the country.
Prices will come down, said Richardson Richardson, a former New Mexico congressman and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reiterated that he expects OPEC members to increase production, although the amount and immediacy of the increases are unclear. The oil ministers meet March 27.
Richardson has refused to say how much added production will be necessary, although noting that the world currently uses 2 million more barrels of oil than is being produced, drawing down inventories.
“OPEC will increase production of petroleum (and) ... you will see over the spring and summer stability in gasoline prices,” predicted Richardson. “It’s going to go down.”
That optimistic assessment contrasts the Energy Department’s own recent analysis that forecast rising gas prices with national average prices of $1.80 this summer, and $2 gas in some places— even if OPEC countries substantially increase production.
The OPEC producers cut production by 4.3 million barrels a day in early 1999 to prop up prices that had plummeted to below $11 a barrel. Since then a world oil glut has turned into shortages and the price has gone as high as $34 a barrel, receding to $31.50 a barrel on March 10.
| 