Support H.R. 2415 — A Free Market Solution for "Gas Gone Wild"
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JBS Action Alert: Support H.R. 2415 — A Free Market Solution for "Gas Gone Wild"
The John Birch Society
June 4, 2008
Who is to blame for the rising price of gas? Some Americans condemn OPEC for not pumping their oil fields dry as fast as possible, while ignoring why we have allowed ourselves to become so dangerously dependent on foreign oil in the first place. Likewise, other Americans target U.S. oil companies as gougers deserving a punishing
windfall profits tax, even though such a tax would simply be passed along to consumers in even higher prices.
However, one congressman has proposed legislation that implicates government policies of extreme environmentalism and inflationary monetary policy as major factors contributing to our gas price woes.
H.R. 2415
House bill
H.R. 2415, short-titled the
"Affordable Gas Price Act," [
bill text] [
CRS summary] was introduced on May 21, 2007 by
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). The official title of the bill states its purpose:
To reduce the price of gasoline by allowing for offshore drilling, eliminating Federal obstacles to constructing refineries and providing incentives for investment in refineries, suspending Federal fuel taxes when gasoline prices reach a benchmark amount, and promoting free trade.
Read:
Rep. Ron Paul's speech introducing H.R. 2415
H.R. 2415 is compilation of proposals for a free market approach to dealing with America's gasoline crisis. It deserves cosponsorship support so that it will receive committee action.
Despite our need to increasingly rely on our own domestic resources the U.S. government has forbidden the development of some major U.S. oil fields. It is unrealistic to expect a nationwide alternative energy infrastructure to materialize quickly enough to prevent major problems for our oil-driven economy.
However,
H.R. 2415 would increase refinery and offshore oil production during the transition period to minimize America's oil and gas pinch by further tapping our own energy resources — not just developing new oil fields that are now off-limits but also using other technologies including the conversion of coal to liquid fuels and a heavier reliance on nuclear power.
Of course, in addition to the lack of harnessing our own energy potential and our unnecessary dependence on foreign oil, another important factor in the price of oil is the devaluation of the dollar through inflation.
Sec. 9. of H.R. 2415 calls for the
U.S. Treasury and
the Federal Reserve to produce a report on the relationship between the increase in our fiat money supply
(rising at a shocking 16-17% annual rate) and the rise in the price of oil. Such a report would be vital in assessing the federal government's responsibility for rising prices.
Inflationary Federal Reserve policy encourages speculation that drives oil prices higher than a tightening supply alone. Recent talk by politicians about increasing the regulation of speculators might lead to treating symptoms rather than the cause and divert attention from much needed scrutiny of the FED.
H.R. 2415 currently has no cosponsors, which is baffling considering that a group of over 110
Republicans boast of their desire to increase domestic oil production and energy independence.
Urge your congressman to cosponsor H.R. 2415. The likelihood that this bill will advance beyond the committee stage and be voted on by the House increases in proportion to the number of cosponsors it has. It is a bonus if your congressman is the chairman, the ranking member, or a regular member of the
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, to which
H.R. 2415 was referred.
Next Consider H.R. 39 — What Oil Crisis? Don't Worry, be Happy!
H.R. 39
House Bill
H.R. 39, short titled the
"Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act" [
bill text] [
CRS summary] was introduced on Jan. 4, 2007 by
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA). The official title of the bill states its purpose:
To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future generations of Americans.
Despite America's mounting energy crisis an item in
H.R. 39 rules out the harvesting of oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal plain to supplement U.S. needs:
(6) A majority of Americans have supported and continue to support preserving and protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including the Arctic coastal plain, from any industrial development and consider oil and gas exploration and development in particular to be incompatible with the purposes for which this incomparable wilderness ecosystem has been set aside.
Instead of preparing to minimize the economic trauma to America of an increasingly likely
global oil crisis many in Washington continue their quest for a socialist utopia through the cause of environmentalism. As gas tops $4.00 on the way to much higher, this is no time for Americans to let elitist social engineers put a permanent lock on what is probably the largest untapped oil field remaining in America. Oppose
H.R. 39.
H.R. 39 currently has
148 cosponsors and substantial backing from the Democrat majority which could conceivably pass this bill without bipartisan support. If Democrats gain control of the presidency a veto of a reintroduced version of this bill is unlikely.
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Source:
http://www.jbs.org/node/8225
