DIESEL FUEL RELIEF SOUGHT IN CONGRESS

DIESEL FUEL RELIEF SOUGHT IN CONGRESS       To protect the U.S. transportation business from further damage, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., have requested Capitol Hill to temporarily suspend the 24 cents per gallon federal excise tax on diesel fuel.
      The bill, called America’s Transportation Recovery Act of 2000, was created in response to the sharp rise in crude oil prices, brought on by the deliberate reduction in oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
      It’s estimated that diesel prices around the country have nearly doubled the national average last year. More than 500 truckers protested the diesel price increases in Washington last week.
      The proposed legislation would suspend the federal tax on diesel fuel for a year, or until the price of fuel returns to its 1999 level.
      “If prices continue to rise and we offer no relief, truckers will be forced off the road, business will shut down and we will all feel the effects,” Biden said. “This is not only the right thing to do — it is the smart thing to do.”