Heller: Repeal oil breaks, cut gasoline tax
WASHINGTON -- Criticized by Democrats who portray him as a friend of Big Oil, Sen. Dean Heller proposed Tuesday to repeal some of the industry's tax breaks and use the savings to reduce gasoline costs for motorists.
Heller, R-Nev., submitted a Senate amendment to reduce the 18.3-cent-per- gallon federal gasoline tax by a penny and make reductions in diesel mixture and aviation fuels. The gasoline tax cuts would be offset by raising taxes on oil companies by about $2 billion.
Spokesmen for Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, who is seeking to unseat Heller in November, charged he was flip-flopping on oil taxes after voting multiple times previously against repealing billions of dollars in subsidies.
Heller's amendment was "a back flip that would make an Olympic gymnast proud," Berkley spokesman Eric Koch said.
Heller said his plan "is moving in a different direction" than earlier ones by steering savings into gasoline, though a penny price cut "is not a lot."
"I think it is just imperative at this point that we come together with some compromise that will lower prices at the pump, that will eliminate these loopholes and increase our resources and go after new resources," Heller said.
Heller proposed his plan as a substitute to a bill by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., that seeks to strip oil subsidies from the five largest oil companies and steer savings to extend tax credits for alternative energy and to reduce the deficit.
Both the amendment and the underlying bill are unlikely to advance in the divided Senate, where 60 votes would be required to move the legislation.
Heller's amendment also calls for the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration, forcing the Obama administration to schedule offshore oil lease sales and approving the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, three divisive energy and environmental issues in Congress.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.
