Higher Taxes Don't Lower Gas Prices

Statement

By Senator Cornyn

This week, the Senate is debating a bill that would raise taxes on a large portion of Texas' economy: oil and gas producers. I filed an amendment to the bill that would block the proposed listing of the sand dune lizard, a critter prevalent in Texas' Permian Basin region, as endangered. Placing this lizard on the Endangered Species List could shut down oil and gas production in the Permian Basin for two to five years, and would threaten 27,000 jobs in West Texas. I had previously sent a letter asking Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe to delay this decision, which he did after visiting Midland and meeting with some of the folks there who would be affected.

It's clear that proposals such as this, as well as raising taxes on energy producers, will do nothing to lower prices at the pump. Even some of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle, such as Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, have admitted thatthis bill isn't about lowering gas prices. It's about punishing a sector of the economy that they don't like and making a political talking point out of it.

Texas has a long and proud history with the energy sector. We know how to balance protecting the environment with providing the vital resources that keep oureconomy moving.

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