After worsening the energy crisis American families are facing by passing a $25 billion tax hike on American-made energy, President Biden is once again calling for a new tax on domestic producers. 

Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) warned that President Biden’s new tax would mean even higher prices and less American-made energy: 

“Haven’t American families suffered enough from President Biden’s damaging attack on American-made energy? Desperately trying to salvage the mid-term elections, now he’s proposing another dangerous policy that will increase energy prices and energy poverty while making America more vulnerable to foreign countries for our daily energy needs. 

“We’ve seen this mistake before. This is a Carter-era tax hike that slashed production while making the U.S. more dependent on foreign oil. This couldn’t come at a worse time for American families suffering under 40-year high inflation, who are on track to pay the highest prices to keep their homes warm in 25 years.”

BACKGROUND:

A windfall tax on energy producers has been tried – and failed – in the past.

• The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has warned, the last time the U.S. implemented a windfall profit tax in 1980 “it resulted in lower domestic production and higher reliance on imports.”
• As noted by Americans for Tax Reform: “Congressional Research Service found that Carter’s windfall profits tax on the oil industry reduced domestic oil production by as much as eight percent and caused U.S. dependence on imported oil to increase by as much as 13 percent from 1980-1988.”

READ: Dems Turn Blind Eye to Americans’ Energy Needs

READ: Biden Hurts U.S. Consumers with Tax Hikes on American-Made Energy and Failed Gambit to Beg OPEC for More Oil

American families are facing an energy crisis.

• Home heating costs are at a 25-year high, with energy costs up nearly 30 percent. This comes as more than half of U.S. workers have lost a months’ worth of wages.
• Soaring energy prices are hurting lower- and middle-income families the most, disproportionately hurting those making $50,000 or less. These working families have to choose between heating their homes and buying essentials.
• Nearly 20 percent of American households have made a late payment on their energy bills, or missed paying altogether, according to a report from Bank of America.

READ: Families Who Want to Stay Warm This Winter Will Pay Highest Energy Bills in 25 Years

READ: As Democrats’ Policies Cripple the Economy, Americans Struggle to Keep the Lights On

Democrats’ broken energy policies have worsened the U.S. energy crisis. 

• According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), President Biden and congressional Democrats’ $25 billion tax hike on domestic energy producers will slash energy production and raise costs for consumers. Prices at the pump will also go higher as the $12 billion superfund tax hike gets passed along to drivers.
• After draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to the lowest level since 1984, President Biden announced he’d deplete it by another 15 million more barrels. With gas prices still up 62 percent from the time he took office, this has done little to ease the pain at the pump.
• With the price of electric vehicles (EV) upwards of $66,000 – well outside of the tight budgets of working families – President Biden handed nearly $3 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies to EV manufacturers. 

READ: Fact Check: The Real Reason Behind High Energy Costs

READ: Gas Prices Have More Than Doubled Since Biden’s First Day in Office