(Editor's note: Earlier today, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard responded to the President's budget proposal to raise taxes on the oil and natural gas industry which would harm job creation and lower government revenues long term. Below is the text of his statement.)

"It's no surprise the administration is proposing yet again to raise taxes on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. But it's still a bad idea and comes at one of the worst times in our economic history. The administration continues to ignore the fact this industry is among the nation's largest job creators and delivers enormous revenues to government at all levels. The industry pays income taxes, royalties and other fees totaling nearly $100 million every day and pays income tax at an effective rate far higher than most other industries.

"Besides eliminating thousands of new potential jobs, the increases, over the long term, would actually lower revenue to the government by many billions of dollars as a result of foregone revenues from projects the tax hikes would prevent going forward.

"The irony is that the administration wants to increase taxes on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry so the government can create green jobs, but the industry is already doing that more efficiently and with less burden on American taxpayers through its own green investments. It invested more than $58 billion from 2000 to 2008 on low- and no-carbon energy technologies, more either than the government or the rest of the private sector combined."

API represents more than 450 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.5 percent of the U.S. economy, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.