Support H.R. 2415 — A Free Market Solution for "Gas Gone Wild"
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Type of Content: Article Who is to blame for the rising price of gas? Some Americans condemn OPEC for not pumping their oil fields dry as fast as possible, while ignoring why we have allowed ourselves to become so dangerously dependent on foreign oil in the first place. Likewise, other Americans target U.S. oil companies as gougers deserving a punishing windfall profits tax, even though such a tax would simply be passed along to consumers in even higher prices. However, one congressman has proposed legislation that implicates government policies of extreme environmentalism and inflationary monetary policy as major factors contributing to our gas price woes. H.R. 2415 To reduce the price of gasoline by allowing for offshore drilling, eliminating Federal obstacles to constructing refineries and providing incentives for investment in refineries, suspending Federal fuel taxes when gasoline prices reach a benchmark amount, and promoting free trade. Read: Rep. Ron Paul's speech introducing H.R. 2415 H.R. 2415 is compilation of proposals for a free market approach to dealing with America's gasoline crisis. It deserves cosponsorship support so that it will receive committee action. Despite our need to increasingly rely on our own domestic resources the U.S. government has forbidden the development of some major U.S. oil fields. It is unrealistic to expect a nationwide alternative energy infrastructure to materialize quickly enough to prevent major problems for our oil-driven economy. However, H.R. 2415 would increase refinery and offshore oil production during the transition period to minimize America's oil and gas pinch by further tapping our own energy resources — not just developing new oil fields that are now off-limits but also using other technologies including the conversion of coal to liquid fuels and a heavier reliance on nuclear power. Of course, in addition to the lack of harnessing our own energy potential and our unnecessary dependence on foreign oil, another important factor in the price of oil is the devaluation of the dollar through inflation. Sec. 9. of H.R. 2415 calls for the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve to produce a report on the relationship between the increase in our fiat money supply (rising at a shocking 16-17% annual rate) and the rise in the price of oil. Such a report would be vital in assessing the federal government's responsibility for rising prices. Inflationary Federal Reserve policy encourages speculation that drives oil prices higher than a tightening supply alone. Recent talk by politicians about increasing the regulation of speculators might lead to treating symptoms rather than the cause and divert attention from much needed scrutiny of the FED. H.R. 2415 currently has no cosponsors, which is baffling considering that a group of over 110 Republicans boast of their desire to increase domestic oil production and energy independence. Urge your congressman to cosponsor H.R. 2415. The likelihood that this bill will advance beyond the committee stage and be voted on by the House increases in proportion to the number of cosponsors it has. It is a bonus if your congressman is the chairman, the ranking member, or a regular member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, to which H.R. 2415 was referred.
Created 30 weeks 6 days ago
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