WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Imposing a $10 per barrel fee on oil companies would ultimately make the US economy stronger once oil prices start to rise again, President Barack Obama told reporters on Friday.
"We're going to be in a much stronger position when oil starts getting tight again, prices start going up again," Obama stated about imposing the oil tax. "We will have further weaned our economy off of dirty fuels, we will have not just made environmental progress, but we'll also have a much stronger economy, a stronger infrastructure."
Obama also noted that imposing an oil tax would allow investments in basic research and technology that will be needed for future energy sources ten to 20 years from now.
On Thursday, the White House proposed a fee of $10 per barrel of oil in the budget plan that the Obama administration plans to unveil next week.
President Barack Obama’s new Clean Transportation initiative is intended to curb greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change and reduce the US dependency on oil. If the program is approved, the tax on oil companies would be phased in over a five year period.
