The oil companies themselves brazenly admit that the American consumer will probably never see any benefit from repealing the 4.3 cents per gallon tax on gasoline. Yet we are engaged in a mad rush to line the pockets of our largest oil producers and refiners. Here's what Philip Verleger, an expert witness on energy issues selected by the majority for a Commerce Committee hearing, had to say: "If you cut the taxes, the incremental difference would go to the refiners, not motorists."

But let's for the moment accept the highly questionable premise that the benefits of this repeal will one day reach the consumer at the pump. According to the New York Times, a savings of 4.3 cents per gallon adds up to $27 a year to the average American motorist.

That's the princely sum of 52 cents a week -- that's the Republican idea of a raise for the American worker.

These are the very same Republicans who have steadfastly fought any attempt to raise the minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage would give millions of American motorists an extra $40 a week.

What we are doing here today will benefit the American consumer about as much as the resignation of the Senate Majority Leader.

The fact is that the wholesale price of gasoline started going down three weeks ago. If the price of gasoline at the pump also goes down, it will have absolutely nothing to do with the action we take today.

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