To the editor:

Some are pinning their hopes on the so-called supercommittee in Congress.

We hope it can steer clear of the political warfare that almost brought the federal government to the brink of default in the debt-ceiling negotiations this summer.

Unfortunately, we’re already hearing that some on the supercommittee will want to raise taxes on the oil and gas industry as a way to resolve the deficit. Raising taxes is becoming a dangerous fixation with Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the White House and too many members of Congress.

Provisions like Section 199 and the dual-capacity tax deduction were set up to boost international competitiveness and job creation at home.

“The deduction is available to everyone from magazine publishers to breweries, and from software developers to coffee roasters,” says the National Taxpayers Union. “Section 199’s wide use flies in the face of accusations from would-be tax-hikers that it is a ‘subsidy’ given to oil and gas.”

Targeting “Big Oil” with politically motivated, punitive tax measures when it is one of the few sectors actually showing job growth makes no sense whatsoever. Let’s hope the supercommittee can find ways to solve our budget and debt problems without proposing counterproductive, job-killing taxes.

Anita Yeckel

Sunset Hills

Editor’s note: Anita Yeckel served two four-year terms as a Republican state senator representing the 1st District. She also served three three-year terms on the Lindbergh Board of Education.