>Dear Friends:
This past week, I hosted a press conference at the Mahwah Sunoco gas station in Mahwah, NJ to address the concerns of constituents from New Jersey’s 5th congressional district about New Jersey’s rising gas costs.
America’s taxpayers work too hard to have their family’s money wasted by Washington bureaucrats. Washington must focus on decreasing the skyrocketing gas and food costs and actually focus on the family budget not the federal one. I strongly believe that we need to develop our nation’s current resources. We need to begin opening up our own fuel sources here in the U.S. and begin deep sea exploration. The Energy Information Administration estimates that untapped U.S. reserves would provide 1 million barrels per day for 30 years. At the price of $125 per barrel, this new oil would deliver $191.1 billion in corporate income tax and royalty revenue to the federal government.
Americans and New Jerseyans have experienced sky-rocketing gas prices. Families across the nation and state have been struggling to make ends meet because of rising prices at the pump. And to make matters worse, our great state of New Jersey is one of the hardest hit states. For every gallon a gasoline attendant puts in your tank, you as a New Jersey resident will pay 18.2 cents in federal taxes.
This taxpayer money is then sent to Washington where part of it is lost in the bureaucratic process and this is where the real problem lies. All too often, the federal government simply wastes your hard-earned money on unnecessary projects like the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere. For New Jerseyans, there’s another issue at stake. Our state is what’s known as a “donor” state. That means that we send more money to Washington than we receive. In recent years, for every dollar we pay in federal gas taxes, we receive about only 92 cents back.
I have fought hard to make up for this discrepancy during my time in Congress. For example, I was able to direct a $1 million appropriation toward a study to focus on bus and transit service in four northern North Jersey counties. Even so, the process isn’t completely just. Washington bureaucrats simply don’t know how to spend your money wisely or fairly.
That’s why, I’ve come up with what I think is a simple solution to this problem—it’s called the START Act, which stands for Suspend Taxes And Revitalize Transportation. This bill, which I’m in the process of introducing, would suspend the federal gasoline tax until the end of the year. After December 31, state legislatures would decide if they would like to again resume paying federal gas taxes. I believe many states, especially donor states like New Jersey, wouldn’t want to re-join the federal system. Instead, they could keep the money within the state and direct it toward the transportation projects that are most important. This legislation would save you money at the pump and improve the roads in New Jersey.”
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett
1318 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4465
fax: (202) 225-9048 210 Route 4 East Suite 206
or
210 Route 4 East Suite 206
Paramus NJ 07652
(201) 712-0330
fax: (201) 712-0930
