[StBernard] Word from Washington: Rep. Melancon Supports Budget after Oil and Gas Taxes were Removed

[Westley Annis]

I hope this e-newsletter finds you well.  After much consideration, today I
voted in support of the fiscal year 2010 House budget resolution.   While I
didn't agree with every part of the bill, it ultimately won my support
because it included key provisions putting us on a path toward restoring
fiscal discipline to the federal government and bring honesty and
accountability to the budget process. 

I also decided to support the budget after members from energy-producing
states like myself successfully worked to strip from the bill new taxes on
the oil and gas industry and a repeal of billions of dollars in energy
industry tax incentives.   These tax provisions, which were included in the
President's original budget proposal, would have been a major tax increase
on Louisiana's oil and gas industry, discouraging new exploration and
production in an already high-risk field.

Louisiana's oil and gas industry has been a major economic engine in our
state for decades, providing our workers with good jobs and the rest of the
nation with reliable, American-made energy. As I and other members from
energy-producing states have reasoned, raising taxes on the oil and gas
industry would result in a sharp decline in domestic energy production,
costing thousands of American jobs and making our country more dependent on
foreign nations for fuel. 

I am grateful to my colleagues on the House Budget Committee for listening
to our appeals and removing the energy tax provisions.  As we move forward
on our path to energy independence, I will continue to support the
development of all sources of domestic energy - both traditional fuels like
oil and natural gas and emerging renewable energy sources like
American-grown biofuels.

I would also like to thank Don Briggs and the Louisiana Oil and Gas
Association for their hard work to make our voice heard in Washington.  His
leadership in organizing a petition drive against the oil and gas tax
increase went a long way in helping us convey how deeply opposed the public
is to these measures.  I thank him for his support and look forward to
partnering with LOGA in the future to fight for Louisiana's oil and gas
industry and the thousands of workers they employ.

Also, as co-chair of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, I am
pleased the budget included a number of the Blue Dogs' long-standing
priorities to restore fiscal discipline in government spending.  In order to
address the issue of long-term fiscal sustainability, the Blue Dogs demanded
that the FY '10 House budget resolution include an iron-clad commitment to
statutory pay-as-you-go rules, a deficit neutral reserve fund for health
care reform, and funding for program integrity to identify waste and abuse
in government spending. 

Members of the Coalition also worked with budget-writers to bring down
discretionary spending levels and ensuring that cap and trade legislation is
not subject to the budget reconciliation process.

Blue Dog Principles included in House Budget Resolution:


	Reduces spending in the President's Budget by over $7 billion,
holding non-defense discretionary spending to 1.9% over inflation - the
lowest level as a percent of the economy in nearly half a century
	
	Requires that action on the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), Medicare
Doctor payment fix and Estate tax be conditioned on passage of statutory
pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules, the top priority of the Blue Dogs.
	
	Allows modification of the budget baseline only if a statutory PAYGO
bill passes House first.
	
	Does not provide reconciliation for cap and trade legislation and
does not assume any revenues from cap and trade are dedicated to any
specific policy.
	
	Guarantees that the reserve fund for health care reform does not
increase the deficit.Begins to close the gap between spending and revenues
by cutting the deficit in half by 2013.
	
	Includes full funding for the President's defense request and
supplemental for overseas military operations.

	Funds the President's budget request for Veterans at a $5 billion
increase.
	
	Includes funding for program integrity to identify waste and abuse
in government spending, as well as language requiring a full review of the
Department of Defense budget.

As Blue Dogs, we understand that passing a budget is necessary if we are
going to be successful in putting the country on the road to economic
recovery. After weeks of negotiations with the administration, the Chairman
of the Budget Committee, and members of our leadership, I can positively say
that the FY '10 House budget resolution includes a number of long-standing
Blue Dog priorities that will restore greater fiscal discipline to and
reduce the deficit.

As your representative in Congress, I am proud to be working on behalf of
the people of south Louisiana and see great things in our future. As always,
I would like to hear from you so please feel free to write, email or call my
offices and share your opinion on the many issues we are considering in
Congress.

 

Regards,

Charlie Melancon

 

 

 FY 10 Budget Debate

 
<http://melancon.congressnewsletter.net/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&g
piv=2100036903.42669.242&gen=1&mailing_linkid=6536> 
Click to watch Rep. Melancon speak about the House budget proposal.