Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr., (R-Southwest Louisiana), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, questioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about $2 billion in new energy production taxes that will cost the Gulf Coast thousands of jobs.

“At risk are tens of thousands of high-paying – mostly blue collar – jobs that provide better than average benefits,” Boustany said.  “These are small, independent businesses across the energy spectrum – producers, distributors, service providers, helicopter operators, and the list goes on.  This budget raises energy taxes on every American and send jobs overseas, so how many Gulf Coast energy jobs will your budget kill?

Boustany questioned Geithner during the committee’s examination of the President’s budget.  As proposed, the President’s $3.6 trillion budget would increase taxes on American energy producers by $2 billion in FY2011 alone.  In addition, the EPA estimated the proposed budget would translate into an extra $1.27 per gallon paid by U.S. energy consumers.  Last summer, gas prices topped $4 per gallon.

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