Kerry Campaign: Bush Administration Leads Charge for Higher Gas Taxes 5/18/2004
From: Chad Clanton or Phil Singer, 202-712-3000, both of John Kerry for President WASHINGTON, May 18 -- "The Bush Campaign is playing fast and loose with the facts. John Kerry never introduced, co-sponsored or passed a fifty-cent gas tax. But George Bush's Vice-President introduced a bill that would have cost drivers $1.2 trillion if it had been enacted. And Ashcroft, Ridge, Thompson, and even one of Bush's top economic advisers all either tried to - or actually did -- raise gas taxes. If George Bush spent as much time attacking gas prices as he did attacking John Kerry, maybe drivers would finally get some relief from these sky-high prices," said John Kerry for President Spokesperson Chad Clanton. Following is a John Kerry for President fact sheet on the Bush administration and gas taxes: DICK CHENEY: $1.2 TRILLION TAX HIKE What It Would Cost American Consumers: $1.2 Trillion Since 1986 What Cheney Said About It: "Let Us Rid Ourselves of The Fiction That Low Oil Prices Are Somehow Good for the United States." In October 1986, then Representative Cheney introduced legislation to create a new import tax that would have increased the price of oil and ultimately the price of gasoline by $1.2 trillion, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service, in coordination with staffers from the Senate Energy Committee. (Energy Security Policy Act of 1986, H.R.5667, introduced 10/9/86, 99th Congress 2nd Session, 132 Cong Rec E 1350, Vol. 132, No. 139; Inside Energy/with Federal Lands, 10/13/86; New York Times, 4/6/04) JOHN ASHCROFT: 55 percent GAS TAX HIKE What Ashcroft Said About It: "The Great Economic Development Tool of the Decade" On February 20, 1992, then-Missouri Governor John Ashcroft signed a law to raise the state gas tax by 6 cents per gallon over four years, a 55 percent increase over the current 11-cent- per-gallon tax. The full increase would cost the average driver about 90 cents a week, or $46.80 per year. On signing the bill, Ashcroft "hailed" it as "the great economic development tool of the decade." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/21/92) MIKE LEAVITT: 39 percent GAS TAX HIKE What Leavitt Said About It: "Will It Be Worth It? Absolutely." On December 19, 1996, then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt proposed a 7.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax hike, a 39 percent increase over the current 19-cent-per-gallon tax. During his State of the State address a month later Leavitt said, "Will it be easy? No. Will it be pleasant? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely." (Salt Lake City Deseret News, 12/20/96; Salt Lake City Tribune, 1/21/97) TOM RIDGE: 29 percent GAS TAX HIKE What Ridge Said About It: "We Must Have the Courage" to Raise the Gas Tax On March 11, 1996, then-Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge proposed a 6.5-cent-per-gallon increase to the state's 22.35-cent gas tax, making it the third-highest in the country. The hike would cost a typical Pennsylvania driver about 64 cents a week, or more than $33 a year. Ridge said the tax increase was his "last choice," but told Pennsylvanians "we must have the courage to pursue this final option." (Pennsylvania Commonwealth News Bureau Press Release, 3/11/96; Allentown Morning Call, 3/12/96; Philadelphia Daily News, 3/13/96) TOMMY THOMPSON: 23 percent GAS TAX HIKE What Thompson Said About It: "That's the Price You're Going to Have to Pay" On March 7, 1995, then-Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson proposed a 5.3-cent-per-gallon "oil company franchise fee." Wisconsin's gas tax would rise by 23 percent under Thompson's plan and cost motorists up to $58 more each year. The Wisconsin State Journal wrote that "even if gasoline costs more at the pump, Thompson said, 'that's the price you're going to have to pay for a modern transportation system.'" (Capital Times, 3/7/95; Wisconsin State Journal, 3/8/95, 3/11/95, 3/11/95, 3/14/95, and 4/9/95; Milwaukee Business Journal, 4/1/95) GREGORY MANKIW: 50 CENT GAS TAX What Mankiw Said About It: "This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer." In the May 24, 1999 issue of Fortune magazine, Gregory Mankiw, President Bush's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, argued that a 50 cent gas tax is a necessary component of income tax cuts. He explained that "cutting income taxes along with increasing gasoline taxes would lead to more rapid economic growth... This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer." (Fortune, 5/24/99) -- Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc. Web: http://www.johnkerry.com |