BOB KERREY’S LONG LOVE AFFAIR WITH HIGHER TAXES
Last week, Bob Kerrey’s campaign told the Lincoln Journal Star that the former Senator supports tax relief for middle class families in Nebraska, but it’s just phony campaign rhetoric seeing that Kerrey strongly advocated for a British Thermal Unit (BTU) tax, which would call for a general tax on all energy products.
The BTU tax would be devastating on farmers in the Cornhusker State because the industry is heavily reliant on energy. Additionally, Kerrey voted against exempting this job-killing tax for off-road diesel fuel equipment and from the production of ethanol.
“Bob Kerrey put the interests of radical environmentalists ahead of Nebraska during his time in Washington when he supported a job-killing BTU energy tax on farmers in the Cornhusker State,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox. “Unlike Kerrey, Deb Fischer is a rancher and will always stand up for the hard-working families in Nebraska.”
BACKGROUND …
Kerrey Supported A BTU Tax That Would Be Devastating To Nebraska Farmers
Kerrey Told President Clinton That He Had “The Right Idea” With The BTU Tax. KERREY: “You had the right idea, Mr. President, with the Btu tax. And when we came after you with both barrels blazing, threatening to walk if you did not yield, you should have let us walk. You should have said to us that at least we would be exercising something other than our mouths.” (Sen. Bob Kerrey, Congressional Record, 8/6/93, p. S10706)
Kerrey Voted Against An Amendment That Would Have Removed The BTU Tax From Clinton’s Budget Resolution. “Nickles, R-Okla., amendment to cut $72.9 billion over five years from the revenue account in the resolution to reflect elimination of any new energy (Btu) tax and to cut an equal amount in spending in order to maintain the overall deficit reduction targets.” (S. Con. Res. 18, CQ Vote #40: Rejected 46-53: R 43-0; D 3-53, 3/18/93, Kerrey Voted Nay)
Kerrey Voted Against Amendments That Would Have Protected Farmers From The Tax
Kerrey Voted Against An Exemption From The BTU Tax For Off-Road Diesel Used For Farming. “Sasser, D-Tenn., motion to table (kill) the Burns, R-Mont., amendment to reduce the revenue levels in the resolution to allow for an exemption for off-road diesel fuel used for farming from the energy (Btu) tax and cut spending by the same amount to meet the same deficit-reduction targets.” (S. Con. Res. 18, CQ Vote #66: Motion agreed to 54-44: R 0-42; D 54-2, 3/24/93, Kerrey Voted Yea)
Kerrey Voted Against An Exemption From The BTU Tax For Ethanol. “Sasser, D-Tenn., motion to table (kill) the Durenberger, R-Minn., amendment to reduce the revenue levels in the resolution to allow for an exemption from the energy (Btu) tax for ethanol and cut spending by the same amount to meet the same deficit-reduction targets.” (S. Con. Res. 18, CQ Vote #68: Motion agreed to 55-43: R 2-40; D 53-3, 3/24/93, Kerrey Voted Yea)
A BTU Tax Would Crush The Agricultural Industry
“Agriculture Is An Energy-Intensive Enterprise And The So-Called BTU Tax Would Ripple Across The Farming Districts Like An Ill Wind.” (James Bornemeier, “State’s Democrats Split On Budget Vote,” The Los Angeles Times, 5/28/93)
“President Clinton’s Energy Tax Plan Would Pour $70 Billion Into The Federal Trough, But Grain And Hog Farmers Say It Would Cost Them Plenty. The Costs To A Typical Hog Farmer, For Example, Would Be An Additional 73 Cents A Head, According To The National Pork Producers Council.” (George Gunset, “Farmers Feel Hogtied By Clinton’s Energy Tax,” Chicago Tribune, 4/13/93)
The Fertilizer Institute Estimated The BTU Tax Would Cost The Typical 700-Acre Corn Producer $5,159 A Year. “Numbers crunched by the Fertilizer Institute estimate that the Btu tax would reduce nitrogen and phosphate application rates and also produce an increased cost of 78 cents an acre. The trade group expects a decline in yield of 3 bushels and a drop in revenues of $7.37 an acre. So, a typical 700-acre corn producer would bear annual additional costs of $5,159.” (George Gunset, “Farmers Feel Hogtied By Clinton’s Energy Tax,” Chicago Tribune, 4/13/93)
The National Pork Producers Council President Said The BTU Tax “Will Weaken Our Industry’s Economic Growth, Increase Production Costs And Reduce Our Competitive Position In The International Marketplace.” “Karl Johnson, council president, in a letter to Congress, said the Btu tax ‘will weaken our industry’s economic growth, increase production costs and reduce our competitive position in the international marketplace. ‘A new energy tax would place a new economic burden on the pork industry and U.S. agriculture when we all face more competitive markets at home and abroad.’” (George Gunset, “Farmers Feel Hogtied By Clinton’s Energy Tax,” Chicago Tribune, 4/13/93)
