Gas Prices Rise For 27 Straight Days; Obama's Answer: Raise Taxes On American Energy Companies

Frustration With Rising Gas Prices
Is Something Both The Left And Right Can Agree On.
Toon by Daryl Cagle - His Facebook - His Website

Today in Washington, D.C. - March 5, 2012:
No votes are scheduled today. in the Senate. If an agreement is not reached on amendments to the highway bill, S. 1813, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a cloture vote to cut off debate on the bill for noon on Tuesday. In addition, the Senate may have the opportunity to take up  HR 4105 - Retroactive authorization for tariffs on non-market economies.

In the House, votes may occur after 6:30 PM on misc items like naming Post Office. Tuesday and the rest of the week various hearings and potential votes on HR 4105 - Retroactive authorization for tariffs on non-market economies, HR 2842 - Hydro-power development and rural jobs, and HR 3606 - bill making it easier for emerging companies to go public.

It’s past time Washington passed a responsible spending blueprint. Americans need to be able to hold lawmakers accountable for their reckless and wasteful overspending.

• The federal government has operated without a budget for nearly three years. In this time Congress has spent far beyond its means, consistently running $1 trillion-plus annual deficits.
• Lawmakers must pass a budget that respects hardworking taxpayers. Americans are struggling and have had to learn to do more with less; the federal government should too.

According to GWU/Politico poll, 15% of likely voters think government spending and the budget deficit are the most important issues for Congress to focus on. That was third behind the economy in general (23%) and jobs (20%).  However, on another GWU/Politico poll, only 30% of likely voters think the next generation is likely to be economically better off than the current one; 59% say it is not likely to be better off. RealClearPolitics polling reports the average disapproval of Congress for the month of February was 82.5%.

The AP reports today, “The price at the gas pump rose over the weekend and the nationwide average is nearing $3.80 a gallon. Oil is close to $107 per barrel because of tensions tied to Iran’s nuclear program. AAA says the national average for gasoline [rose] 2.6 cents since Friday, including a fractional gain on Monday. The price has risen for 27 straight days, to $3.77 a gallon.”

And the Detroit Free Press adds, “AAA Michigan says gasoline prices are up about 25 cents per gallon during the past week to a statewide average of $3.93. The auto club says today the average is about 40 cents per gallon higher than last year at this time.”

Yet the Obama administration continues to stand in the way of more and cheaper American energy. He rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought oil from Canada and helped move oil from North Dakota and Montana to the rest of the country. The pipeline also would have created tens of thousands of American jobs.

And now the president is calling for higher taxes on American energy producers. How this is supposed to lower gas prices create jobs is a mystery. Leader McConnell noted last week that “nobody” “can show me that raising taxes on American energy production will lower gas prices and create jobs.”

He continued, “[T]his is merely an attempt to deflect from his failed policies. Instead of returning again and again to tax hikes that increase consumers’ costs, the administration and its Democrat allies in Congress should open their eyes to the opportunity presented by the Keystone XL pipeline and the vast energy resources we have right here at home, and to the hundreds of thousands of jobs that opening them up could create.”

If President Obama really wants to do something about American energy that could affect high gas prices, he could reject policies like raising taxes on American energy companies that make it harder to produce energy here in the United States and take positive steps like approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

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