Senator Bond says a suggestion to cutback the federal gas tax is no replacement for a national energy policy. Senator Bond strongly opposes repealing a 4-point-3 cent increase in the federal gas tax enacted in 1993, even though it’s the leader of his own party, Senator Trent Lott, who proposes it. Bond says cutbacks from Mideast oil countries, not the gas tax, have caused gas prices to skyrocket. He says the current energy crisis must be met with a national energy policy that seeks more domestic oil production without sacrificing the environment, something he insists can be done. Bond claims a cutback in the federal gas tax would cost Missouri $127-Million a year in highway construction money. He says he doesn’t plan to let that happen.
