Congress should respond to gas costs, ‘foreclosure tax’

Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio

…I also don’t have to tell you what gasoline prices have done to our families’ budgets. Earlier this summer, prices climbed to $3.25 per gallon and higher. For most of us who live in rural areas, we have no choice but to pay those prices if we want to continue to get to work and pick up our kids from school.

That is why I announced my plan to introduce the Rural Commuters Tax Relief Act of 2007. This legislation could not be simpler: If your household makes less than the national median income, you drive more than 30 miles to work and you work at least four days per week, then you receive a $100 tax credit for each month that the average price of gas is more than $3 per gallon.


I have secured millions of dollars for our region to develop our alternative energy sources, which will help deal with our energy crisis in the long run. But this legislation will help working families with some of the pinch we’re feeling while we develop those technologies.

These are good-sense proposals that I believe will make life just a little easier for Ohio’s working families. I have been selected to the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in Congress because of my commitment to fiscal discipline. To me, being fiscally responsible means spending what we have wisely. That is why I voted to end a $15 billion giveaway to huge oil companies that are seeing billions of dollars in profit.

The Advocate