Working Hard to Control Gas Prices

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Keeping Oil on the Market

Voted to Temporarily Suspend Filling Oil Reserves When Oil Prices Spike

• When gas prices skyrocketed in 2008, this suspension saved consumers as much as $0.25 per gallon.
• The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is already 97% full – the highest level ever – with enough oil to meet our national security needs.

Supported Increasing Domestic Production

• Congressman Murphy was a co-sponsor of the Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act, which would help increase production on public lands by charging an escalating fee on land that oil companies have leased but are not using for production. The revenue raised from these fees goes toward renewable energy and energy efficiency investments that will reduce our dependence on oil.
• Between 1999 and 2007, the number of drilling permits issued for development of public lands, onshore and offshore, increased by more than 361% - but oil companies refuse to produce from these lands, leaving 68 million acres (75%) untouched.
• Based on current production rates, the 68 million acres of leased but currently inactive federal land and waters could produce an estimated 4.8 million additional barrels of oil and 44.7 billion additional cubic feet of natural gas each day, nearly doubling total U.S. oil production.

Decreasing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil

Voted for a Solution to Lower Energy Costs and Reduce our Dependence on Foreign Oil

• Signed into law December 19, 2007, this bill (Public Law No 110-140) makes America more energy independent, responds to the global warming crisis, grows our economy, and lowers energy costs. Most importantly, this law will reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

This law means that…

• American families could save $700 to $1,000 a year at the pump, as the measure also increases fuel economy standards -- the first increase in a generation -- to 35 mpg in 2020 for new cars and trucks.
• Net imports of crude oil are projected to be 2.4 million barrels lower in 2030 than previously expected.
• Oil prices are projected to decline from $100 per barrel levels to $57 per barrel in 2016 (in 2006 dollars) in part due to the new energy law’s reduction in U.S. demand for petroleum.

Helping Small Businesses Cope with the High Price of Gas

Proud Co-Sponsor of the Small Business Investment and Promotion Act

• This bill provides solutions to several problems impeding small business growth and innovation, among them the rising cost of fuel.
• This bill creates a two-year tax credit on fuel purchases. It also increases the tax deduction on fuel for small business owners and independent contractors who use their own vehicles for work.

Punishing Price Gougers and Speculators

Voted to Crackdown on Price Gougers

• This bill (110th - H.R. 1252) would have helped American families who are currently facing record high gas prices. It provides immediate relief to consumers by giving the FTC the authority to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate the price of energy.

Supported the Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices (PUMP) Act

• Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading is conducted without any regulation or oversight by the federal government. This bill (110th - H.R. 594) would have allowed Federal authorities to regulate these markets and deny speculators the ability to drive up oil prices.

Voted to Investigate Price Gougers

• This bill (110th - H.R. 6074) would have given U.S. authorities the ability to prosecute anti-competitive conduct committed by international cartels that restrict the supply and drive up the price of oil.
• This bill also brings the conduct of international cartels within the reach of U.S. antitrust laws.
• This bill would have brought the conduct of international cartels within the reach of U.S. antitrust laws, and it would have created a Department of Justice Task Force that would examine the existence and effects of price gouging and anti-competitive price discrimination by petroleum refiners.

Taking Action Against OPEC

• Congressman Murphy supported the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) bill in the 110th Congress, which would have enabled the Department of Justice to take legal action against OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that drive up the cost of oil globally and in the US.

Ending Giveaways to Big Oil

Supports Ending Give-Aways to Big Oil

• With oil companies making record profits year after year, Congressman Murphy supports stopping taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil. He has voted for bills that will end unnecessary subsidies to Big Oil companies and invest in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Helping Working Families by Suspending the Gas Tax

Working to Lower the Price of Gas (H.R. 2480)

• Congressman Murphy cosponsored the Gas Price Relief Act. This bill would have repealed the federal gasoline tax, now 18 cents per gallon for consumers, once the average price of gasoline nationwide reached $3/gallon.
• Keeping his promise of fiscal responsibility, this bill would supplement the lost revenue by suspending tax incentives to Big Oil without negatively affecting the Highway Tax Fund.

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