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Friday May 12 12:21 PM ET

Legislation Would Require Fuel Surcharge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To help truckers defray the high cost of diesel fuel, legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives to impose mandatory fuel surcharges on deliveries.

Independent truckers, who have taken a financial hit this year from high diesel prices, have been lobbying lawmakers for relief. Truckers have held several protests in Washington seeking a rollback of diesel fuel taxes.

The bill was introduced Thursday and listed in the Congressional Record Friday.

``These individuals, who own and operate their own rigs, are faced with financial ruin,'' said the bill's sponsor, Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia.

``Simply put, they cannot afford sharp increases in diesel fuel prices and they are not in the position to pass these increased costs on to shippers,'' he said.

The national price for diesel fuel was $1.40 a gallon this week, 32 cents higher than a year ago, according to the Energy Department. Prices in some regions of the country are higher.

This winter during a shortage of distillate fuel supplies in New England, diesel fuel prices increased almost 68 cents a gallon over a three-week period.

When diesel prices suddenly increase by such a large amount, the legislation calls for a mandatory fuel surcharge to be passed through to the motor carrier who is providing the transportation service.

Transportation contracts that already contain fuel surcharges would not be affected by the bill.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000512/bs/truckers_fuel_1.html

-- - (x@xxx.com), May 12, 2000

Answers

Just like a Socialist, er I mean Democrat, to come up with some hare brained law to redistribute the wealth. Notice how the truckers lobbied for tax relief and the Socialist offered a new tax on some other segment of the population?

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), May 13, 2000.