Paul Coverdell: “a few moments ago, the other side of the aisle effectively blocked the efforts to repeal President Clinton's August 1993…”

“a few moments ago, the other side of the aisle effectively blocked the efforts to repeal President Clinton's August 1993 increase on gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel. Now, just to put this in perspective, when the President was running for the office he now holds, he said, in unequivocal terms, that a gas tax was the wrong thing to do, he said it was egregious for low income, and he said it was harmful to the elderly, all of which is true. It is as regressive a tax as one can find because the lowest income families in America pay the highest share of their disposable incomes. It ranges as high as 8 percent of their disposable income that has to be invested in the purchase of gasoline. So those that have the least resources are those for which this tax causes the most difficulty, which, as I am sure, is why the President said it was the wrong thing to do. Nevertheless, on arrival at the White House, an increase in gasoline taxes was put in his tax increase on America, which, as we all know, was the largest tax increase in American history. These policies have had the effect of costing America's average families, all of them put together, about $2,000 to $3,000 in lost income.”