Cars

Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton: Where Is the Leadership?

Joining Hillary Clinton in the push to reduce the federal gas tax is fellow New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who has railed about gas prices at least since they "soared" to $1.59 per gallon.

By Brad Aaron

2:56 PM EDT on April 30, 2008

Joining Hillary Clinton in the push to reduce the federal gas tax is fellow New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who has railed about gas prices at least since they “soared” to $1.59 per gallon.

As Politico reports, rather than talking about climate change and auto dependence, Schumer is pushing a Democratic plan to go after “Wall Street speculators, OPEC, price gougers and Big Oil”:

[R]egardless of the legislative realities — not to mention the
futility of promising short-term decreases in gas prices — Democrats
have embraced a political opportunity. By proposing aggressive
legislation that takes on the boogeymen of the oil tycoons and
profiteering speculators, Democrats are trying to corner Republicans
into choosing between a president who is chummy with the oil industry
and a decidedly populist energy bill.
“We need to stop the speculation” that’s driving up oil prices, said
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who has been involved in discussions with
Democratic leaders who debated energy policy at a closed-door lunch
Tuesday. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) promised “short-term relief and
long-term relief” and insisted that “Big Oil should pay” for any
suspension of gas taxes.

As Politico points out, the main elements of the plan, which include substituting gas tax revenues with new taxes on oil companies, investigating price gouging, and diverting oil from national reserves to increase supply, are mostly long shots and short-term fixes. Why can’t Schumer and Clinton take a cue from the New York City Model of transit oriented development and show some true leadership?

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.

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