November 1, 2022
From Advancing American Freedom Executive Director Paul Teller:
President Biden’s proposed windfall profits tax on energy companies is the administration’s latest misguided attempt to combat surging gas prices and record-high inflation. Make no mistake, Americans are hurting, but not at the hands of the oil industry. Rising costs and fuel shortages are a direct result of the climate radicalism of the Biden administration and its allies on Capitol Hill. Families and businesses deserve relief, not progressive talking points. Advancing American Freedom will continue to call for conservative solutions to Biden’s energy crisis that alleviate the burden on American families and solidify the future of our energy economy.
Opposing a Windfall Profits Tax
• A windfall profits tax would discourage investment in the energy industry at a time when companies need increased capital to carry out essential operations in an unstable and unpredictable environment.
• As companies report higher profits, they are reinvesting those returns in order to maintain (and soon increase) supply.
• Reducing investments, thereby reducing the industry’s ability to generate supply, would ultimately make the United States more dependent on imports of foreign oil.
If the Biden administration wants companies to increase domestic supply, it should first start by reducing the regulatory burden it has imposed on the industry. These policies are outlined in AAF’s Freedom Agenda, and include:
• Expediting oil and gas land lease sales and permitting approval to unleash the full potential of American producers and distributors.
• Approving and expediting the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and other pipelines critical to increasing the distribution of crude oil.
• Eliminating the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rules which threaten companies’ access to capital and financial institutions critical to investment, production, and growth.
• Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, which handcuffs our domestic energy potential in favor of arbitrary climate goals.
Visit www.advancingamericanfreedom.com/energy to learn more about pro-American energy solutions.
