July 11, 2005

Wyden Outlines Strategy to End "Terror Tax"

Funds flow from high gas prices at the pump to governments funding extremist attackers

Washington, DC - Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a conferee on the 2005 energy bill currently under consideration, spoke regarding the "terror tax" Americans pay for our nation's dependence on foreign oil. In the wake of the London transit bombings, Wyden discussed how funds find their way from American consumers' gasoline purchases to extremists who wish to attack the U.S. and other democracies, and outlined ways to reduce the "terror tax" in an effort to improve national security. Following please find the prepared text of Senator Wyden's remarks.*****************************U.S. Senator Ron WydenFloor Remarks as PreparedJuly 11, 2005Mr. President, the tragic bombings in London are a sober reminder of just how vulnerable America and our allies remain to terrorism. It's time to get serious about addressing a major source of our national insecurity: our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.I believe what happened in London last week is likely to be tragically replicated if our country doesn't act boldly to reduce what I believe ought to be called a "terror tax" that is now imposed on the American people. I call it a "terror tax" because when each of us pulls up to the corner station and pays $2.40 a gallon or so for gas, the reality is that a portion of that money is then turned over to foreign governments that "backdoor" it over to Islamist extremists, who use that money to perpetuate terrorism and hate. What I call the terror tax is not posted as a price at our gas pump; it's not calculated in our balance of payments to foreign governments. It is a tax measured not in dollars and cents, but in risk and the insecurity of our people. It is as real as everything else the American people put their money toward each week. Of the 20 million barrels of oil Americans consume each day, almost 12 million barrels of it is imported. That percentage, now nearly 60 percent, is growing. It was only about 33 percent years ago at the time of the Arab oil embargo. Our addiction has nearly doubled since then. In the next few weeks the House and Senate will sit down as part of an effort to write a bipartisan energy bill. I voted against the energy bill because it did not do enough to reduce our dependence on foreign oil - but I hope especially at this critical time that on a bipartisan basis during this conference it will be possible to make the legislation better.I believe it's important to do as much as possible to reduce the terror tax that comes with our dependence on foreign oil. It's not good enough to accept business as usual when our citizens pay record prices at the gas pump only to see foreign governments wink and nod while terrorist groups make off with substantial amounts of the money and use the funds to target America. In my view, there is an indisputable link not only between the American dependence on foreign oil and the price our citizens pay at the pump, but between our oil addiction and our vulnerability to attack.For this reason, in the energy bill conference I'm going to propose five concrete actions to reduce the terror tax:1. I want the State Department to publish each year for the next ten years a report on the flow of money paid by Americans at the gas pump to foreign governments that ends up in the hands of Islamist extremists that are targeting Americans with acts of terror.2. Since most foreign oil goes to the transportation sector, I want the American automobile industry to be required to increase auto efficiency by one mile per gallon each year for the next ten years. Listen to me carefully: one mile per gallon. Otherwise, I want to hear the auto industry explain why they cannot meet this national security objective.3. For each of the next ten years the Energy Department should publish a list of the most energy efficient cars in each of the major types of vehicles so the auto industry will have to compete on the basis of the most fuel efficient cars.4. To increase the responsible production of oil in America, not overseas, companies that increase oil production at existing wells shall receive a two percent annual increase in their tax writeoffs for this production for each of the next 10 years that the company increases production from existing wells in the United States.5. Finally, this bill must promote new alternatives to oil. I have proposed a no-risk way to kickstart efforts to get hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road within a decade. By creating tax incentives for selling hydrogen vehicles and fuel, my legislation would only pay for performance. Only actions that put hydrogen vehicles on the road or provide stations to fuel up would qualify for these incentives. In the nearer term, other alternatives are becoming readily available. Getting a fair energy bill that reduces our dependence on foreign oil is about the most red, white and blue thing Congress could do right now - and I believe it's an issue of national security. Experts from a range of political stripes agree that the single most important step that Congress can take to make America more secure is to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. As a Senate conferee on the energy bill, I look forward to working with my colleagues to secure these common-sense steps to end the terror tax brought about by our addiction to foreign oil.

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