Think Gas Prices Are Too High Democrats Dont

Congressman John Boehner
May 26, 2011

High gas prices are threatening jobs and our economy, but top Democrats think families, small businesses, and Americans looking for work should pay even more. The White House and Senate Democrats have already proposed tax hikes that would drive up energy prices; now theyre talking about raising the tax on every gallon of gas you buy too. From The Hill:

Increasing the federal gas tax should be considered to pay for a new transportation bill, a key Democrat said Tuesday. Rep. Nick Rahall (W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said President Obama should be more specific about how he plans to fund a long-term transportation spending bill, and that raising the gas tax should be one of the options. ‘We’ve not had an increase in the gas tax since 1993,’ Rahall said Tuesday during a speech at the Transportation Construction Coalition’s 10th annual Washington fly-in. ‘Cars are more efficient,’ Rahall said. ‘They get better mileage.'”

This is just the latest example of Democrats promoting tax hikes over reforms that create jobs. ObamaCare created a maze of job-destroying tax hikes. And President Obamas plan to raise the debt limit without spending cuts a threat to jobs in and of itself is accompanied by a proposal for a tax trigger that would automatically impose job-crushing tax hikes when Washington spends too much.

Republicans are taking a different approach. The American Energy Initiative, for example, is focused on stopping policies that drive up gas prices and expanding energy production to create new jobs. And Republicans are committed to addressing our spending-driven debt crisis by putting everything on the table except tax hikes. Click here to learn more.