Kennedy Votes to Collect Royalties from Oil Companies

	A large group of Kennedy supporters came out to march in the parade with Mark and Debbie

St. Paul, May 19 - Congressman Mark Kennedy was one of 67 Republicans who voted yesterday to collect $7 billion in royalties from the oil companies. The bill passed the House 252-165.

“At a time when oil companies are seeing record profits, it doesn’t make any sense to be providing them with $7 billion in incentives,” said Mark Kennedy. “They already have plenty of incentives. We have the opportunity to use that $7 billion to help lower prices at the pump and provide families with real relief during the summer driving season.”

Just two weeks ago, Kennedy proposed the Summer Relief for Motorists Act, which would temporarily suspend the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Under Kennedy’s plan, the $7 billion in royalty fees from the oil companies would go to keep the Highway Trust Fund fully funded.

According to The New York Times, “The windfall stemmed in large part from a major error in about 1,000 leases that the Clinton administration signed with energy companies in 1998 and 1999. (Edmund Andrews, “Vote in House Seeks to Erase Oil Windfall,” New York Times, May 19, 2006)

“Today was a good first step in returning common sense to our energy policy,” added Kennedy. “Now we need to move beyond the politicization of high gas prices and find common sense solutions, like the Summer Relief for Motorists Act, to lower prices at the pump. I look forward to continuing to work with members on both sides of the aisle to get things done for Minnesota.”

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