I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3784 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a windfall profit 

tax on oil and natural gas (and products thereof) and to allow an 

income tax credit for purchases of fuel-efficient passenger vehicles, and 

to allow grants for mass transit. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2012 

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. 

FUDGE, and Mr. FILNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose 

a windfall profit tax on oil and natural gas (and products 

thereof) and to allow an income tax credit for purchases 

of fuel-efficient passenger vehicles, and to allow grants 

for mass transit. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gas Price Spike Act 

5 of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WINDFALL PROFITS TAX. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 (relating to alcohol, tobacco, and cer4 tain other excise taxes) is amended by adding at the end 

5 thereof the following new chapter: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 56—WINDFALL PROFIT ON 

7 CRUDE OIL, NATURAL GAS, AND PROD8 UCTS THEREOF 

‘‘Sec. 5896. Imposition of tax. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5896. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other tax im11 posed under this title, there is hereby imposed an excise 

12 tax on the sale in the United States of any crude oil, nat13 ural gas, or other taxable product a tax equal to the appli14 cable percentage of the windfall profit on such sale. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) TAXABLE PRODUCT.—The term ‘taxable 

17 product’ means any fuel which is a product of crude 

18 oil or natural gas. 

19 ‘‘(2) WINDFALL PROFIT.—The term ‘windfall 

20 profit’ means, with respect to any sale, so much of 

21 the profit on such sale as exceeds a reasonable prof22 it. 

23 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—The term 

24 ‘applicable percentage’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 50 percent to the extent that the 

2 profit on the sale exceeds 100 percent of the 

3 reasonable profit on the sale but does not ex4 ceed 102 percent of the reasonable profit on the 

5 sale, 

6 ‘‘(B) 75 percent to the extent that the 

7 profit on the sale exceeds 102 percent of the 

8 reasonable profit on the sale but does not ex9 ceed 105 percent of the reasonable profit on the 

10 sale, and 

11 ‘‘(C) 100 percent to the extent that the 

12 profit on the sale exceeds 105 percent of the 

13 reasonable profit on the sale. 

14 ‘‘(4) REASONABLE PROFIT.—The term ‘reason15 able profit’ means the amount determined by the 

16 Reasonable Profits Board to be a reasonable profit 

17 on the sale. 

18 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT OF TAX.—The taxes 

19 imposed by subsection (a) shall be paid by the seller.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

21 for subtitle E of such Code is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following new item: 

‘‘CHAPTER 56. WINDFALL PROFIT ON CRUDE OIL AND REFINED

PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR PURCHASING FUEL EFFICIENT AMER5 ICAN-MADE PASSENGER VEHICLES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is 

9 amended by inserting after section 25D the following new 

10 section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 25E. PURCHASE OF FUEL-EFFICIENT AMERICAN12 MADE PASSENGER VEHICLES. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

14 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 

15 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to 

16 the cost of any qualified passenger vehicle purchased by 

17 the taxpayer during the taxable year. 

18 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM CREDIT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit allowed by this 

20 section for the taxable year shall be— 

21 ‘‘(A) $3,000 in the case of a qualified pas22 senger vehicle not described in subparagraph 

23 (B) or (C) if the vehicle’s fuel economy is with24 in the 10 percent most fuel efficient range, 


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1 ‘‘(B) $4,500 in the case of a qualified pas2 senger vehicle not described in subparagraph 

3 (C) if the vehicle’s fuel economy is within the 

4 5 percent most fuel efficient range, and 

5 ‘‘(C) $6,000 in the case of a qualified pas6 senger vehicle the fuel economy of which is at 

7 least 65 miles per gallon. 

8 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF RANGES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vehicle sold during 

10 a calendar year is within the 10 percent most 

11 fuel efficient range if the fuel economy for such 

12 vehicle is equal to or greater than the lowest 

13 fuel economy of a vehicle included in the group 

14 consisting of the 10 percent of the vehicles sold 

15 during the preceding calendar year with the 

16 highest fuel economy. A similar rule shall be 

17 applied to determine the 5 percent most fuel ef18 ficient range. 

19 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE DETERMINATION.—The 5 

20 and 10 percent most fuel efficient ranges shall 

21 be determined separately for— 

22 ‘‘(i) trucks and sport utility vehicles 

23 as a group, and 

24 ‘‘(ii) other qualified vehicles as a 

25 group. 


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1 ‘‘(C) RANGES TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE

2 BEGINNING OF YEAR.—Before the beginning of 

3 each calendar year, the Secretary shall publish 

4 in the Federal Register the 5 and 10 percent 

5 most fuel efficient ranges which apply for such 

6 calendar year. In the case of ranges for cal7 endar year 2011, such ranges shall be published 

8 as soon as possible. 

9 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED PASSENGER VEHICLE.—For pur10 poses of this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified auto12 mobile’ means any automobile (as defined in section 

13 4064(b))— 

14 ‘‘(A) which is purchased after the date of 

15 the enactment of this section, 

16 ‘‘(B) which is assembled in the United 

17 States by individuals employed under a collec18 tive bargaining agreement, 

19 ‘‘(C) the original use of which begins with 

20 the taxpayer, 

21 ‘‘(D) substantially all of the use of which 

22 is for personal, nonbusiness purposes, and 

23 ‘‘(E) the fuel economy of such automobile 

24 is within the 10 percent most fuel efficient 

25 range. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FUEL ECONOMY.—Fuel economy shall be 

2 determined in accordance with section 4064. 

3 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any 

5 property for which a credit is allowable under sub6 section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such 

7 credit. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROPERTY USED OUTSIDE UNITED STATES

9 NOT QUALIFIED.—No credit shall be allowed under 

10 subsection (a) with respect to any property referred 

11 to in section 50(b).’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

13 for such subpart A is amended by inserting after the item 

14 relating to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Purchase of fuel-efficient American-made passenger vehicles.’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 4. MASS TRANSIT FARE REDUCTIONS DURING GAS 

19 PRICE SPIKES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

21 may make grants to the operator of a mass transit system 

22 to assist the operator in reducing fares paid by passengers 

23 using the system. 

24 (b) USE OF GRANTS.—Grants received under the 

25 program shall be used solely for implementing a fare reVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:06 Jan 19, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3784.IH H3784

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1 duction described in subsection (a) that is applied equally 

2 to all passengers using the mass transit system. 

3 (c) MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘‘mass transit system’’ includes bus and 

5 commuter rail systems. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section in 

8 a fiscal year amounts equivalent to the excess (if any) of— 

9 (1) the revenues received during the preceding 

10 fiscal year pursuant to chapter 56 of the Internal 

11 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to windfall profit on 

12 crude oil and refined petroleum products), over 

13 (2) the revenue cost for such fiscal year of sec14 tion 25E of such Code (relating to purchase of fuel15 efficient American-made passenger vehicles). 

16 Amounts authorized under the preceding sentence shall re17 main available until expended. 

18 SEC. 5. REASONABLE PROFITS BOARD. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde20 pendent board to be known as the ‘‘Reasonable Profits 

21 Board’’ (hereafter in this section referred to as the 

22 ‘‘Board’’). 

23 (b) DUTIES.—The Board shall make reasonable prof24 it determinations for purposes of applying section 5896 


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1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to windfall 

2 profit on crude oil, natural gas, and products thereof). 

3 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Board shall be con4 sidered an advisory committee within the meaning of the 

5 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

6 (d) APPOINTMENT.— 

7 (1) MEMBERS.—The Board shall be composed 

8 of 3 members appointed by the President of the 

9 United States. 

10 (2) TERM.—Members of the Board shall be ap11 pointed for a term of 3 years. 

12 (3) BACKGROUND.—The members shall have no 

13 financial interests in any of the businesses for which 

14 reasonable profits are determined by the Board. 

15 (e) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

16 (1) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the 

17 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), 

18 members of the Board shall be paid at a rate equal 

19 to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate 

20 of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule 

21 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 

22 for each day (including travel time) during which the 

23 member is engaged in the actual performance of du24 ties vested in the Board. 


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1 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive 

2 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist3 ence, in accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of 

4 title 5, United States Code. 

5 (f) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.— 

6 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Board shall appoint 

7 a Director who has no financial interests in any of 

8 the businesses for which reasonable profits are de9 termined by the Board. 

10 (2) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the 

11 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), 

12 the Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay 

13 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

14 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (g) STAFF.— 

16 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Director, 

17 with the approval of the Board, may appoint and fix 

18 the pay of additional personnel. 

19 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director may make 

20 such appointments without regard to the provisions 

21 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint22 ments in the competitive service, and any personnel 

23 so appointed may be paid without regard to the pro24 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 


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1 53 of that title relating to classification and General 

2 Schedule pay rates. 

3 (3) DETAILEES.—Upon the request of the Di4 rector, the head of any Federal department or agen5 cy may detail any of the personnel of that depart6 ment or agency to the Board to assist the Board in 

7 accordance with an agreement entered into with the 

8 Board. 

9 (4) ASSISTANCE.—The Comptroller General of 

10 the United States may provide assistance, including 

11 the detailing of employees, to the Board in accord12 ance with an agreement entered into with the Board. 

13 (h) OTHER AUTHORITY.— 

14 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Board 

15 may procure by contract, to the extent funds are 

16 available, the temporary or intermittent services of 

17 experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 of 

18 title 5, United States Code. 

19 (2) LEASING.—The Board may lease space and 

20 acquire personal property to the extent that funds 

21 are available. 

22 (i) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated such funds as are necessary to carry out this sec24 tion. 

Æ 


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