| Even Fellow Democrats Call McCaskill Proposal “Laughable” & “A Gimmick”
As a new USA Today/Gallup survey shows nearly 70 percent of Americans suffering “financial hardship” thanks to a national average of nearly $4-per-gallon gas, Missourians are reminded that not only is liberal U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) refusing to work with Republicans on bipartisan efforts to lower the price at the pump, she is actually attempting to drive the price of fuel up by raising energy taxes. As USA Today reports: As gas prices hover near $4 a gallon, nearly seven in 10 Americans say the high cost of fuel is causing financial hardship for their families, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. More than half say they have made major changes to compensate for the higher prices, ranging from shorter trips to cutting back on vacation travel. For 21%, the impact is so dramatic they say their standard of living is jeopardized. Nationally, the price of a gallon of regular gasoline averages $3.96. That’s up 38%, or $1.09, from levels a year ago. In seven states, gas prices have passed July 2008′s record of $4.11 a gallon. But instead of working to expand domestic production and lower fuel costs for Missouri’s families and job creators, McCaskill is working with the liberal wing of the Democrat Party to raise energy taxes – a reckless move that the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports would “make oil and natural gas more expensive for U.S. consumers and likely increase foreign dependence.” “With the vast majority of Missouri families suffering ‘financial hardship’ thanks to $4-a-gallon gas, why is Claire McCaskill working to drive energy costs even higher with her proposed tax hikes?” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “Yet again, McCaskill’s liberal Washington agenda has put her in direct conflict with the interests of Missouri families and small businesses.” While her fellow Washington liberals claim that near-record-high gas prices are “not the issue,” McCaskill herself does not deny that her proposed tax hikes will result in higher energy costs for Missouri families and small businesses. Meanwhile, even several of McCaskill’s fellow Senate Democrats have called her proposal “laughable,” and have made clear that her tax hikes will “cost thousands of jobs” and “increase our dependency on foreign oil.” Sadly, this is not the first time Claire McCaskill has displayed her enthusiasm for energy tax hikes and high gas prices: McCaskill has expressed her support for a job-killing cap-and-trade energy tax, and recently said “the good news is our emissions are way down because of the recession.”
Notably, McCaskill’s tax-hiking, energy-price-increasing agenda stands in marked contrast to her fellow Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), who strongly opposes raising energy taxes and is working to expand domestic energy production. |
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| McCaskill Has Supported Energy Tax Hikes And High Energy Costs:
Before The Cap-And-Trade Vote, McCaskill Said “In Broad Strokes, I’m For This [Cap-And-Trade] Concept,” But Noted Concerns About The Affect On Energy Costs For Average Americans. “At issue is a ‘cap-and-trade’ bill sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va., under which companies would buy or sell the right to emit carbon dioxide, a leading cause of global warming. . . . ‘In broad strokes, I’m for this concept,’ McCaskill said. But, she added, ‘this is a very complicated subject, and we need to make sure we do no harm.’ She said she has two chief concerns: how the government would spend the trillions of dollars raised by the cap-and-trade program and how the measure would affect energy costs for average Americans. ‘I start out very suspicious of a massive program that is kind of a hybrid between government program and an open-market system,’ she said. ‘I want to make sure it’s going to operate efficiently, that it’s going to be operated effectively, and I want to make sure the middle class doesn’t get left holding the bag.’” (Deirdre Shesgreen, “Global Warming Bill Puts McCaskill On The Hot Seat,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/2/08)
2011: McCaskill Said “The Good News Is Our Emissions Are Way Down Because Of The Recession. We Are . . . I Mean, You Know Really, If You Want To Find A Silver Lining In The Cloud.” McCaskill: “Well the good news is our emissions are way down because of the recession. We are . . . I mean, you know really, if you want to find a silver lining in the cloud. The number that we were looking for, we are well, well above where the emissions would have been, assuming for purposes of discussion, cap-and-trade was passed a few years ago, because we have had such a real drop in manufacturing output. Now, I didn’t mean really good news, I mean that it was, I was being sarcastic again . . . context . . . But emissions are way down because of unfortunately the lack of economic activity that we have had over the last couple of years.” (Jennifer Rubin, “Claire McCaskill Isn’t Helping Herself,” The Washington Post’s Right Turn Blog, www.washingtonpost.com, Posted 3/29/11)
McCaskill’s Fellow Washington Democrats Admit Their Bill To Raise Taxes on Energy Companies Will Not Lower Gas Prices
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “You know, this is not going to change the price at the gasoline pump. That’s not the issue. I don’t see that as an issue at all. The issue I see is who shares.” (U.S. Senate, Finance Committee, Hearing, 5/12/11)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “This was never intended to talk about lowering prices.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 5/11/11)
SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ): “Nobody has made the claim that this bill is about reducing gas prices.” (“McCaskill: Savings From Cutting Oil Tax Breaks Should Be For Deficit Reduction,” The Hill’s E2 Wire Blog, 5/10/11)
CRS: Dem Tax Hikes “Would Make Oil And Natural Gas More Expensive For U.S. Customers”:
CRS: Tax changes outlined in the President’s budget proposal “would make oil and natural gas more expensive for U.S. consumers and likely increase foreign dependence.” (“Oil And Natural Gas Industry Tax Issues In The FY2012 Budget Proposal,” Congressional Research Service, 3/3/11)
DEM SENATOR: “It Will Actually Hurt Job Production In The United States”:
“When it comes up for a vote in the Senate sometime in the next week, its chances of passing seem slim to none because not only is it going to run up against widespread Republican opposition, it won’t even have the support of all 53 Democrats.” (“The Skunks At The Garden Party,” ABC News, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA): “Laughable.” “You ask me can I vote for a bill like this. No. Not only can I not vote for it, it’s laughable.” (Sen. Landrieu, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-AK): “A gimmick.” “You’re right, this piece of legislation they put down without really a committee process on it is a gimmick, a gimmick to get the next week of activity, and get some press out there.” (Sen. Begich, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA): “It will not reduce gasoline prices by one penny.” “I would just like to add my strong voice to urging my colleagues to read this bill, to look at it and understand the inherent unfairness in it, the lack of significant deficit reduction, and the fact that it will not, although it is being touted as, it will not reduce gasoline prices by one penny.” (Sen. Landrieu, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-AK): “It won’t decrease prices at the pump.” “There is a lot of talk right now about ending tax incentives for oil and gas industry, but the high profits right now of these companies are easy targets. But one thing Alaskans know, just because you have an easy target doesn’t mean it is the right thing to shoot. It won’t decrease prices at the pump for our families and small businesses. It will discourage companies, especially the independents, from domestic investment and job creation.” (Sen. Begich, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA): “Will it create jobs? No. It will actually hurt job production in the United States.” “Why are we singling out one sector of one energy – you know, one part of the energy industry to repeal the subsidies when it will in fact have the opposite effect of reducing gasoline prices, which even its sponsors, one of its cosponsors said publicly for us not to be fooled. This will not reduce gasoline prices. So why are we doing it? Will it create jobs? No. It will actually hurt job production in the United States.” (Sen. Landrieu, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11)
SEN. MARK BEGICH (D-AK): “The bureaucrats in [President Obama’s] administration are not listening. They are not – they are tossing up barriers in additional Alaskan oil and gas production every chance they get. Sadly, some of my colleagues in this body are not much better. Instead of addressing the problem with specific solutions, they are going for headlines by dragging energy company executives before committees or promising the roadblocks — or proposing that roadblock incentives for increased domestic energy consumption, some of which have been on the books for decade. Let’s stop the headline-grabbing and get serious about the energy security.” (Sen. Begich, Floor Remarks, 5/11/11) |
