From an
April 6 NY Times article:
In October 1986, when Dick Cheney was the lone congressman from energy-rich Wyoming, he introduced legislation to create a new import tax that would have caused the price of oil, and ultimately the price of gasoline paid by drivers, to soar by billions of dollars per year.
"Let us rid ourselves of the fiction that low oil prices are somehow good for the United States," Mr. Cheney, who is now vice president, said shortly after introducing the legislation.
Oil prices had plunged to $15 from nearly $40 a barrel in the early 1980's, as Saudi Arabia flooded world markets, and Mr. Cheney argued the tax was needed to stabilize oil-state economies devastated as a result. But other lawmakers, including some Republicans, criticized the Cheney plan and similar proposals as "snake oil" that would throw 400,000 Americans out of work. They also said then, as President Bush does now, that higher taxes would stall the economy.
Here's a
Kerry campaign press release from April on the same subject. It notes that John Kerry was one of 16 senators who introduced a resolution opposed to import fees of the kind Cheney was promoting.
With oil prices at record highs, tomorrow's debate is the perfect time for Kerry to bring this up! (If you agree, consider recommending this entry so it'll stay on the front page long enough to be seen by someone important...)