U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., is calling the Democrat’s
proposal to quadruple the tax on barrels of oil “bad news for
affordability of energy.”
The plan would increase the current 8 cent tax to 32 cents per
barrel.
“There’s a proposal to do that,” Thompson said. “I wouldn’t call
it a plan. When you implement a plan, you think it through and
consider the consequences.
“This is a crisis reaction,” he said. The proposal is in
response to the ongoing crisis caused by the massive BP oil spill
in the Gulf of Mexico. The tax would be levied on oil produced in
the U.S. or imported from foreign countries. The revenue would go
to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, managed by the Coast Guard
to help pay to clean up spills in waterways.
What’s a little puzzling about the urgency of quadrupling the
tax, Thompson explained, is that BP is liable for all of the costs
relating to the oil spill. So why the sudden need to put this extra
tax on the backs of the taxpayers?
“In terms of the overall crisis that’s driving this, the
environmental damage has certainly been done,” Thompson said. BP —
British Petroleum, not an American company — “is liable for 100
percent of it. This (tax) has nothing to do with the event.”
Thompson said the numbers of the 8-cent tax now translate to a
19-cent-per-gallon cost at the gas pumps. The proposed 32-cent tax
would mean 76 cents per gallon of gas.
“It’s terrible for consumers, whether you are filling up at the
pump or filling up your tank at home,” the congressman said. A
struggling economy coupled with high joblessness is enough of a
burden on consumers without adding yet another tax.
The whole plan is being rushed and hasn’t been debated, he
added. “This has been pushed through without proper hearings and
deliberations.
“There hasn’t been an analysis for energy security, domestic
production or the overall economics of the country,” Thompson
said.
The top concerns he has with the proposal are the impact on
domestic production, including all the independent oil producers in
Pennsylvania; and the cost that this will pass along to
consumers.
“What will this do to the economy if this once again drives up
the cost of energy?” Thompson added.
The congressman said the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund serves
to ensure that when a spill happens, it will be cleaned up even if
the company doesn’t have the resources to do it, or when the
perpetrators of the spill aren’t located.
“BP, they’ve got the resources to do this cleanup,” Thompson
said, adding “it’s going to be very expensive.”
Thompson said he can’t predict whether this proposal will be
successful, but that communication between the parties on Capitol
Hill has been effective with slowing down items of concern such as
this.
“Within this (tax) extenders bill, which is where this is
located, much of this is unfunded,” he said. “We can’t continue to
borrow and spend. We need to find ways to pay for things we are
doing.”
Thompson added that he drives about 3,000 miles a month, and
knows that he doesn’t want such a sharp increase in his fuel bills.
And Americans certainly cannot afford it, he added.
The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has about $1.5 billion
available. Under current law, only $1 billion can be spent from the
fund on a single incident. The extenders bill would increase the
spending limit to $5 billion.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
