It makes more sense to encourage domestic oil production than use provide a “stimulus check” to American consumers to help them cope with current gas prices, according to U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and U.S. Sen John Barrasso.
The “Gas Rebate Act,” a bill proposed by three congressional Democrats, would provide a monthly energy rebate of $100 per person. The refund would kick in for the rest of 2022 as long as the national average gas price topped $4 a gallon during any given month.
Wyoming’s average gas price as of Monday was $4.08 per gallon, below the national average of $4.234 for a gallon of regular.
Cheney told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the clear solution to rising gas prices is to unleash American domestic energy production.
“In Wyoming and across the country, we have the resources and capabilities to increase production so we can regain American energy independence, provide crucial resources for our allies around the world, and reduce gas prices and energy costs hardworking families are facing,” she said.
Barrasso, speaking during a news conference last week, agreed U.S. oil production must be increased.
“We are still 1.3 million barrels a day less being made in the United States now than during the pandemic,” he said. “We need to get that up and whether it’s checks, gas cards, any of those things, that doesn’t contribute to the solution of having more available energy for Americans to buy when they go shopping.”
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Cowboy State Daily.
Another proposed Democrat-led bill, the “Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax” would charge a per barrel tax equal to 50% of the difference between the current price of a barrel of oil and its pre-pandemic average price between 2015 to 2019.
The lawmakers calculated that if the per barrel price sits at $120, the tax would raise about $45 billion a year, which would provide single tax filers with $240 annually and joint filers with $360 each year.
