• Energy Tax Facts
• 18 Apr 13

Houston Chronicle Editorial Takes On Administration’s Energy Outlook

The facts are in — the President’s proposed budget is taking aim at the wrong industry.  America’s oil and natural gas producers are providing jobs while safely developing secure, energy here at home.  The result is fueling an otherwise anemic economy, providing affordable fuel for manufacturers, and decreasing our reliance on foreign, often unstable, energy sources. But despite a rhetoric of “all the above”, the Administration takes aim at American oil and natural gas companies. This Editorial from the Houston Chronicle couldn’t have said it any better than we could:

“Sometimes it’s hard not to conclude that the administration and a great many uninformed Americans actually view the oil patch as enemy territory and regard the energy industry – oil and natural gas, particularly – as the “enemy” industry. To our knowledge, no other group is so routinely maligned and attacked by politicians and interest groups.

“Bad guys? You mean the folks who employ our neighbors in good-paying jobs, contribute mightily to our tax base, civic life and sports and cultural/arts scenes? We don’t think so.

“On Wednesday, the president released his long-awaited FY 2014 budget. As expected, it contains a tax that targets the energy industry, the single sector most likely to jump-start a vigorous national economic recovery. If it were not so widely expected, it would be astonishing. Penalizing the producers. Really, sir?

“U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, said it best: ‘I can’t stress enough … that singling out the oil and gas industry for tax hikes would only stifle job creation and drive up imports of crude oil from foreign nations that are hostile to us. It’s not fair to penalize one specific industry unjustly, much less one that’s so critical to our nation’s economy. ’Amen, congressman.”

Check out the full editorial at the Houston Chronicle and check back soon for more from the Energy Tax Facts campaign.