00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22 01 Endorsing approval by the United States Congress of S 254 or comparable 02 legislation imposing a tax on imported oil. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the federal government requires additional revenue to reduce the federal 05 budget deficit; and 06 WHEREAS, without additional revenues, Americans face the prospect of significant 07 budget reductions for federal programs that are vital to their health and welfare and to the 08 educational and economic opportunities available to them; and 09 WHEREAS S 254 calls for the imposition of a tax on imported oil; and 10 WHEREAS the imposition of an oil import tax would raise revenue and moderate the 11 severity of anticipated federal program reductions; and 12 WHEREAS imposition of an oil import tax would provide incentives for further 13 domestic exploration and production, reducing dependence on foreign oil supplies; and 14 WHEREAS the imposition of a tax on imported oil should have the effect of 01 increasing the market price on domestically produced oil to the benefit of domestic producers 02 and jurisdictions in which oil production occurs. 03 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature endorses Congressional passage 04 of S 254 or comparable legislation imposing a tax on imported oil. 05 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 06 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 07 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; 08 the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 09 J. Bennett Johnston, chair of the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources 10 Committee and principal sponsor of S 254; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the 11 Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 12 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.