By: Parker S.C.R. No. 79 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature supports and commends the 1-2 efforts of the President and both parties in the Congress of the 1-3 United States to address the federal deficit and wishes to be 1-4 supportive of those efforts and to call to the attention of our 1-5 national leadership the strengths and weaknesses of various 1-6 proposals; and 1-7 WHEREAS, After rebounding from the recession of the 1980s the 1-8 Texas economy is once again growing; and 1-9 WHEREAS, Since the discovery of oil at Spindletop in 1901, 1-10 the Texas economy has been strongly tied to the energy industry; 1-11 and 1-12 WHEREAS, Under President Clinton's new energy policy, Texas 1-13 would bear the brunt of the proposed Btu tax; Texans would pay 1-14 approximately $8 to Washington for every $1 the federal government 1-15 would return; and 1-16 WHEREAS, An unfair and inequitable tax, the Btu tax would 1-17 cost Texans an additional $54 million a day and the state, with 1-18 only 6.5 percent of the national population, would bear 12.5 1-19 percent of the United States energy tax burden; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Not a broad-based tax, it will be borne by energy 1-21 producers, just now emerging from 10 years of severe depression; 1-22 and 1-23 WHEREAS, Misguided energy policies have already driven many 2-1 major oil companies overseas; and 2-2 WHEREAS, President Clinton's plan could result in the loss of 2-3 thousands of jobs and force the curtailment of energy production in 2-4 the state and nation, increasing American dependence on foreign 2-5 oil; now, therefore, be it 2-6 RESOLVED, That the 73rd Legislature of the State of Texas 2-7 hereby request the speaker of the house of representatives to 2-8 appoint five members of the house of representatives and the 2-9 lieutenant governor to appoint five members of the senate to form a 2-10 delegation to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with the members 2-11 of the Texas delegation to Congress to express opposition to the 2-12 proposed Clinton energy policy and urge them to reconsider support 2-13 of this plan.