Joe Barton: “my good friend and colleague from Michigan, Mr. Dingell, a member of the Committee on Commerce, asked the question…”

“my good friend and colleague from Michigan, Mr. Dingell, a member of the Committee on Commerce, asked the question, Where is the money going to go? With all due respect, that is the wrong question. The question is, Where is the money going to come from? The money has been coming out of the pockets of the American taxpayers, who have about given all they can give. This bill repeals the 4.3-cent gasoline tax and allows the taxpayers to keep some of what they have been giving. My pockets are dirty and they are empty, I want the Record to clearly show that. This 4.3-cent gasoline tax repeal leaves money in the taxpayers' pockets. It also repeals a tax that most American citizens thought was going to build highways. However, this tax increase actually went into the general revenue fund to increase social spending. There is a section, section 6 of this bill, that does direct the Committee on Appropriations to reduce the appropriation accounts for departmental administration at the Department of Energy by $542 million over 5 years.”