Greater Federal Access and Regulatory Stability, Not Higher Taxes, Are Best Path Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s call yesterday for tax hikes on domestic oil and gas producers:

“There’s a simple rule in economics: if you want less of something, tax it. What the president is proposing is a bad idea that has been repeatedly rejected by multiple Congresses, including this one, because it will do nothing to reduce gas prices for consumers. It will simply punish the very companies that are producing the oil and gas Americans depend on.

“I want to emphasize that I do not see – and have yet to hear – how raising taxes on energy companies will lower gasoline prices or help families and businesses who are already struggling to fill their tanks.

“If raising revenues is the president’s goal, he should allow greater access to our nation’s tremendous energy resources and make sure that producers can acquire their permits in a reasonable timeframe.

“Alaska, federal waters and the Rocky Mountain West all hold huge resources just waiting to be produced for the good of our nation. Right now there are 40 billion barrels of oil beneath federal lands in Alaska alone that are off-limits. Taking steps to produce more of our own energy would create jobs, generate new revenues and help restrain prices at the pump.”