Taxes Driving Investment in Oil and Gas Exploration Overseas

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I got a magazine from a good friend, a former colleague of ours, Chris John, who is now the president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. All of our colleagues got this magazine. I want to quote from his introduction in this magazine:

``The path of the Washington Democrats, with a few notable exceptions, is to repeal tax incentives and possibly levy other taxes on the industry, with the money going to the development of alternative fuels. This will do nothing to lower gasoline prices or increase crude oil supplies. In fact, enactment of such a plan would discourage new investment in exploration and production in the United States and send those dollars overseas.''

Now, Chris is a good friend and a former colleague, one that we all trust and appreciate his service. He is right on this issue. We should not drive our investment in oil and gas exploration overseas by burdening them with new taxes.

Source