A critical

responsibility of any member of Congress is to listen to

constituents - to listen, to hear, and to reflect

their views in Congress. I take this responsibility

seriously. As I meet with individuals, groups and

businesses in Georgia to discuss the issues and review

the many accomplishments of the 106th Congress, the

common question is not campaign finance, gun control or

other traditional legislation. It is "what is

Congress going to do about the high price of

gasoline?"

In response, I have

introduced the Fuel Tax Cost Reduction Act of 2000 (H.R.

4006), which repeals the 4.3 cent per gallon fuel tax

which was imposed on consumers in 1993 and the 5 cents

per gallon tax levied in 1990 on diesel and gasoline. My

bill also protects the transportation trust funds from

any losses caused by the tax relief.

Many solutions for the high

cost of fuel are being debated. But Congress has a direct

role in only one aspect of the problem, and that is to

reduce the fuel taxes which have been levied by the

federal government over the past decade.

The 4.3 cent per tax had

been imposed for the purpose of "decreasing the

deficit" at a time when unending deficits had been

predicted totaling over a trillion dollars. With

Republicans assuming the majority in 1995, and with the

fiscal restraint which followed, we are now running a

positive cash flow. I think that when you end a deficit,

you should also end a deficit reduction tax, especially

when ending that tax would ease the pain of rapidly

escalating fuel prices.

Higher fuel prices are

having a tremendous impact on working Americans. Let me

cite a few statistics:

� Gasoline prices have

risen from 92 cents per gallon thirteen months ago, to

$1.52 today. This is a national average; many regional

amounts are even greater.

� Families are spending an

extra $9.00 per fill-up, based upon a typical car holding

15 gallons of fuel.

� Heating oil costs

soared: $125 for a fill up in Georgia with a 500-gallon

tank; $500 for a tank in New England and the Mid-Atlantic

states.

� Airline tickets have

risen by an average of $5 to $20 each, despite the fact

that airlines and their stockholders are absorbing part

of the increase. Consider one example: a 50 cent per

gallon increase in the price of jet fuel has raised the

cost of a fill-up of a Boeing 747 by $28,642.

� It costs an additional

$150 per fill-up for many tractor-trailers which haul a

large share of the nation's produce and products. Annual

fuel costs have risen $12,500 for the average rig which

gets six miles to the gallon and is driven 150,000 miles.

� The cost of operating a

locomotive which also hauls the nation's commodities has

risen by $175,000 per year.

Regardless of which

industry is consuming fuel, it is the individual consumer

who will bear the ultimate burden of the fuel increases.

The high cost of transportation will work its way into

every thing we buy, from food to furniture. The high cost

of fuel does not stop at the supermarket checkout

counter. It has an impact at the local bank as well,

because historically, interest rates have peaked after

energy price spikes.

From 1974 to 1975, after

the OPEC-led oil embargo of the previous year, inflation

nearly doubled to 12.3 percent. At that time the prime

rate skyrocketed to 12 percent. Again, after the Iranian

revolution and ensuing oil shock of 1979, inflation hit

double-digits, peaking at 13.3 percent. The prime rate

then shot up to 20 percent in 1980. It is not hard to

imagine the impact higher rates will have on job

creation, on every American buying a house or car, and on

every family trying to pay off credit cards.

Fuel tax relief is only one

part of a comprehensive solution. Since the root of the

problem is our dependence upon foreign oil, we must use

short- and long-term approaches. We must put pressure on

OPEC nations for increased production. This week, we are

closely monitoring discussions of the Organization of

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is

considering raising oil production by 1.7 million barrels

per day (mbd). This is less than the 2.3 mbd increase

which our Department of Energy says is necessary to

significantly lower prices. Regardless of the final

decision of OPEC, any production increase will not be

felt at the pump for months. James Falvey, an oil analyst

with Dresdner Kleinwort and Benson, told CNN he does not

expect the price of oil to decline from $27-a-barrel, at

least for the first six months, as the increase in supply

makes its way down the pipeline.

We must also encourage more

domestic production and higher energy efficiency. The

President should release oil from the U.S. Strategic

Petroleum Reserve to put more crude on the market. For

the short term and immediate relief for American

consumers, however, Congress should reduce the federal

taxes on fuel. We must bring all pressure to bear on the

oil companies to fully pass through the tax relief to

consumers. We must take every reasonable step to bring

relief. We cannot simply stand by and do nothing for

working Americans. The House and Senate leadership are

both considering proposals to reduce the federal fuel

tax. Congress should pass fuel tax relief with no further

delay.