Boehner Column: "The No-Energy Bill that Will Raise Taxes, Force Higher Gas Prices"

In the hours before Congress left town for the August district work period, Democrats approved what they claim is a noteworthy energy bill. This legislation, however, is more aptly called a “no-energy” energy bill because it not only ignores the crucial need to create new American energy sources but it will force higher gas prices.

Pushing through legislation that does nothing to help working families meet the growing demands of their energy costs may seem like a “new direction” to the Democratic leadership who’ve never seen a tax hike they don’t like but to me, it’s the wrong direction for our country.

Along with my colleagues in Republican leadership, I have asked the President to veto the Democrats’ no-energy bill. I am committed to a new and better energy future, one where Americans enjoy lower energy prices that result from the security of a diverse, stable and affordable energy supply. House Republicans are working toward a 21st century energy policy that will reduce energy costs, increase our energy independence, strengthen our economy and protect the environment.

It may sound like an ambitious plan but this is the roadmap that we put the country on when the President signed the landmark Energy Policy Act of 2005 – the first national energy strategy Congress developed in more than a decade. That law makes historic investments in clean, renewable energy technology, the responsible exploration of traditional American energy and the research necessary to develop the fuels of the future.

In stark contrast, the Democrats’ plan creates government programs for education and labor; contains a foreign policy declaration on international climate cooperation; provides loan guarantees, research and new government offices at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; creates new government oversight requirements for U.S. energy production; mandates billions in green pork projects; expands Davis-Bacon labor laws; and creates new building codes and federal government mandates.

If that’s not bad enough, leading House Democrats have only become more strident in their intentions to raise consumer taxes. Earlier this month, the Democratic chairman of the House Transportation Committee unveiled his proposal to raise federal gasoline taxes by 5 cents to create bridge maintenance-and-repair fund. Instead of giving transportation dollars back to states to spend on their priorities, the first option from Washington Democrats is to raise your taxes and create a new entitlement program.

In addition, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled a plan to raise federal gas taxes by 50 cents for his plan to fight global warming.

Combined, these two taxes will more than double the existing federal gas tax and would add $10 to the cost of filling an 18-gallon tank. Ohio already has one of the highest state gas taxes in the nation, charging 28 cents per gallon. Tacking on another 55 cents to create a federal slush fund and pay for more federal government spending isn’t smart economic policy nor does it help create any new energy that will ultimately lower prices for consumers.

Every one of us understands the law of supply and demand. But the energy legislation rushed through the House by Democrats is an empty victory – one reminiscent of the 1970s gas-line disaster waiting to happen again. The American people won’t buy it, and I will fight to make sure that any energy policy signed into law actually creates more American-made energy and puts us on the road to energy independence without sacrificing our economic security.