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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 5, 1993                   TAG: 9304050217
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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ENERGY TAX GREASING SQUEAKY WHEELS

MAYBE it's still too early to worry that President Clinton's proposed broad-based energy tax will be gutted by his inclination to try to keep everybody happy. But the inordinate compromising, clarifying and tinkering with the original proposal gives pause. It seems a bit too blatantly driven by squeaky-wheel lobbying.

Corn-state lawmakers, for instance, insisted that ethanol, which happens to be made from corn, be exempted from the energy tax. Voila! Ethanol is excused from the "broad base."

Other industries whine that the tax will make them uncompetitive. They're added to the list of the tax-exempt.

Shifting the burden from producers to consumers isn't the major concern: A tax on producers is ultimately a tax on consumers, anyway. Besides, revenue-raising isn't the only purpose of an energy tax. Cost-cutting conservation, to reduce both pollution and America's dependence on imported oil, is also a goal.

But the readiness to provide exceptions for every powerful voice that begs for them looks suspiciously like business as usual in Washington.

The president is trying to boost prospects of passage of his energy tax. But riddle a proposal with enough exemptions and exceptions, and next thing you know it's a shadow of its former self.

In Washington, there's never an end to special pleadings for special treatment by special interests. On this, as on other issues, Clinton needs to draw a line.

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