Republicans in both chambers have reintroduced legislation to eliminate a key “polluter pays” industry tax used to fund EPA cleanups at the nation’s most contaminated sites.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Ohio Rep. Mike Carey are sponsoring the “Pay Less at the Pump Act,” which would repeal the excise tax on crude oil and imported petroleum just three years after it was reinstated.
“Cheaper energy translates into cheaper goods for Americans at every level of the supply chain, allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned cash,” Carey said in a news release.
For the first 15 years of the Superfund program’s existence, hazardous waste cleanups were funded in part by three industry taxes: petroleum, chemicals and large corporations. Former President Joe Biden’s landmark infrastructure and climate laws reinstated the chemical and oil taxes in 2021 and 2022, nearly three decades after the taxes expired in 1995.
