Bob Dole: “let me also indicate something that it is not a part of this bill. It is still our intention to work out some procedure…”

“let me also indicate something that it is not a part of this bill. It is still our intention to work out some procedure where we can take up repeal of the 4.3-cent gas tax. That is a matter of about $4.8 billion per year. It is our intention to repeal it until the end of the year and work on a permanent repeal during the budget process. We believe, with the skyrocketing prices of gasoline, jet fuel, and other fuels, that the most certain way to give consumers relief is to repeal the gas tax. That was part of the 1993 $265 billion tax increase President Clinton proposed, which did not receive a single Republican vote in the House or Senate. A permanent repeal of the gas tax is about $30 billion. So what we hope to propose, and hopefully on a bipartisan basis, at the appropriate time, is to go ahead and repeal the gas tax for the remainder of this year and try to get this done before the Memorial Day recess and deal with permanent repeal during the budget process. Of course, we would have to find offsets and pay for the repeal. It seems to me that we should do that as quickly as we can before the summer driving season starts in earnest.”