Mayor Scott W. Lang of New Bedford, Massachusetts urges immediate action through Congress, and asked that tax credits be offered to truckers, farmers, fisherman and others who must pay for gas to travel 12,000 miles or more annually for business purposes.
NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts – April 25, 2011 — Mayor Scott W. Lang of New Bedford, Massachusetts released a letter sent Friday calling upon President Obama to take immediate action to halt the gas crisis affecting citizens in cities across the country. “I have witnessed the devastating consequences of the recession on ordinary citizens,” said Mayor Lang. “Rising gas prices will cripple any economic recovery and disproportionately burden the very individuals who have already suffered the most.”
In a letter dated April 22nd, Mayor Lang welcomed the President’s recent announcement of a task force to examine possible fraud in the oil markets, and asked that he take additional, immediate steps to prevent gas prices from rising further. Specifically, he requested that President Obama ask Congress to enact legislation to:
(1) give the President the authority to implement gas price controls;
(2) provide tax credits to truckers, farmers, fisherman, and any other workers who pay for gas to travel 12,000 miles or more annually for business purposes; and
(3) impose a windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies.
These measures would provide immediate relief to American workers and mitigate the regressive effect of rising gas prices. Moreover, any shortfall caused by the tax credits would be more than offset by the windfall profits tax.
While the proposed legislation is urgently needed to secure our nation’s economic recovery, the city of New Bedford is also committed to the ultimate goal of reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. Living in the former whaling capital of the world, the citizens of New Bedford are keenly aware that a nation can completely change the sources of its energy consumption. As such, the city is aggressively seeking to support the development of renewable energy sources and was chosen last year to be the staging site for the Cape Wind project.
“As New Bedford and cities across the country work to support a transformed energy policy, I ask that you work with Congress to ensure that our citizens do not bear the burden of rising gas prices,” stated Mayor Lang.
Read the original press release.