Americans get it. With their appreciation for freedom, opportunity, and fairness, they instinctively know that legislative proposals to raise taxes on some companies but not others are bad for business and bad for consumers. And yet, some of the people who've been elected to public office insist on trotting out new tax proposals that strain the American sense of fair play.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), for example, wants to prohibit the five largest oil companies from using a standard tax deduction. The Senate Finance Committee, which Sen. Baucus chairs, says the deduction's goal--to encourage the production of more domestic energy--hasn't been met.

Never mind that companies aren't allowed to drill in many of America's most energy-rich areas. Never mind that oil companies already have an effe... more »

Several activities are underway today that could have a significant impact on America's energy policy. They include congressional efforts to pass energy legislation as well as the killing of the leaking Macondo well.

Today the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (CLEAR) Act. This bill is purported to be a response to the Gulf oil spill, but it reaches far beyond the accident.

If passed, it would impose higher energy taxes, require the federal takeover of state offshore waters, restrict offshore energy development and remove the liability cap on oil spill damages, which would exclude small- to mid-size energy companies from operating in the Gulf.

The bill is a jobs killer and API opposes it. The House is likel... more »

With the House and the Senate poised to vote on energy bills before the August recess, editorial and op-ed writers are taking Congress to task for neglecting the primary issues confronting the United States today--jobs and the economy.

At a time when millions of Americans are out of work and worried about their family budgets, they say Congress and the administration are using the oil spill to enact legislation that could do more economic harm than good:

In a Houston Chronicle op-ed, Harry C. Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce writes that Congress is addressing the Gulf oil spill "calamity with an even more damaging response--tax increases on our domestic oil and gas companies." He says the unemployment rate in the African-American community stands at 15.4 percent. "Couple th... more »

The Gulf oil spill illustrates the need to improve our ability to prevent and respond to accidents, and we are working to find lasting solutions.

Unfortunately, some on Capitol Hill seem determined to use the anxiety created by the spill as an excuse to impose billions of dollars in higher taxes on America's energy companies.

For example, some have called for the elimination of deductions for manufacturing expenses that Congress specifically enacted to keep U.S. jobs and create new ones. Others want to change longstanding rules on how U.S. companies are taxed on their foreign income--even though doing so would place U.S. companies at a huge competitive disadvantage to foreign companies and jeapordize American jobs.

Working Americans have historically been suspicious of taxes on the energy... more »

The Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate discussions continue to be a work in progress. Until the proposal advances beyond the concept stage, we won't know enough to support or oppose it.

Because of the interconnected nature of energy to all aspects of our economy, climate and energy policy has an enormous potential impact on Americans and their ability to find jobs and purchase goods.

For that reason, we need to see more details of the plan and an Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis that assesses the plan's impacts on energy production and the economy.

Moving away from the House Waxman-Markey approach was imperative. The House bill would have eliminated millions more jobs than it created and unfairly burdened families, farmers, truckers and other regular users of gasoline, diesel a... more »