New Obama Gas Tax Could Add 9 Cents Per Gallon

New emissions standards announced by the Obama administration Friday will add a fee of up to 9 cents per gallon of gasoline.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the program will reduce sulfur in gas and tighten emissions standards on cars starting in four years. The estimated cost to consumers ranges from a penny to nearly a dime more per gallon at the pump.

The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to rebuke Obama. "This is a continuing trend for President Obama," the NRCC wrote on its blog. "Last week, his former campaign apparatus bashed the Keystone XL proposal that would bring over 20,000 jobs and set us on a path to energy independence. Earlier this week, he announced a fundraiser at the mansion of liberal billionaire Tom Steyer. Steyer is a chief opponent of Keystone and recently led the charge to make Los Angeles coal-free."

The new Tier 3 standards will take a California program and expand it across the rest of the states starting in 2017. The program mandates a reduction in sulfur of 60 percent and an 80 percent reduction of nitrogen oxide.

The Obama administration has taken a series of steps to reinvigorate the auto industry and ensure that the cars of tomorrow are cleaner, more efficient and saving drivers money at the pump and these common-sense cleaner fuels and car standards are another example of how we can protect the environment and public health in an affordable and practical way, said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe during the announcement. Todays proposed standards which will save thousands of lives and protect the most vulnerable -- are the next step in our work to protect public health and will provide the automotive industry with the certainty they need to offer the same car models in all 50 states."

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