Moments ago, the Senate defeated the Burr-Menendez-Reid amendment to the Senate transportation bill. The amendment, the long-stall New Alternatives to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act, would have provided significant subsidies for nearly every aspect of the natural gas vehicle industry, while levying a new tax on natural gas. Heritage Action's CEO Michael Needham made the following statement:
The defeat of the NAT GAS Act is a signal of how Washington has changed since 2010. Last year, many in the Washington Establishment considered the enactment of the NAT GAS Act to be inevitable. In the past, they would have been right, but thanks to a robust education effort and intense grassroots pressure, this latest attempt to pick winners and losers failed.
But now is not the time to sit back and congratulate ourselves. The tax code is riddled with subsidies that distort the market and allow the heavy hand of government to tip the scales in favor of some industries and against others. If we are serious about pursuing comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform, we can start by eliminating these market-distorting credits and reducing the corporate tax rate.
Heritage Action stands ready to support those who propose bold solutions that address our nation's most pressing problems.
Related:
Heritage Action: Key Vote Alert: "NO" on the NAT GAS Act Amendment
Heritage Action: Untangling the Spin: Senator Burr's NAT GAS Act Speech
Heritage Action: SHOCKER: Natural Gas Vehicles on the way WITHOUT Government Subsidies
Heritage Action: Pickens Acknowledges No Need for NAT GAS Act
Heritage Action: 20th Representative Pulls Off NAT GAS Act
Conservative Groups Call for Congress to End Energy Subsidies (March 17, 2011)