Max Baucus: “to summarize, obviously motorists do not like paying higher gasoline prices. As has been pointed out, it is a product…”

“to summarize, obviously motorists do not like paying higher gasoline prices. As has been pointed out, it is a product, essentially, of supply and demand--in this case, short supply. That is what has happened. I must also point out the price of gasoline is starting to come down significantly. According to figures as of July 10, the national average price of gasoline has fallen 3 cents since last week, 8 cents since the recent high on July 12. That is not a lot, but it is better. In the Midwest, prices have fallen by 28 cents since their high on June 19, settling just below the national average, I might add. And for areas in the Midwest using reformulated gasoline, prices have fallen more than 34 cents since their high on June 19, settling just 4 cents above the national average. So prices are already coming down. No. 2, in real terms we are paying less, one-third less than we were in 1981. That is not an unimportant point. That is very important. In addition, this is an off-again, on-again tax. This is a yo-yo tax. On again, off again, that is no way for the Congress to conduct fiscal policy. It just is not. Pretty soon, if we do this, we will have off-again, on-again taxes on everything under the Sun. What in the world is going on here? The American people want stability. They don't like the charades, the sleights of hand. Here is a tax that is going to go off just before an election, go right back on right after the election. Come on, give me a break.”