As Congress tries to raise taxes on U.S. energy producers, Oklahoma Rep. Dan Boren continues to stand firm against some of his Democratic colleagues and oppose this policy change.

It’s good that he does, too, for higher taxes on energy mean higher prices for all of us.

American consumers have been struggling with the high cost of gasoline and other fuels for over two years now. Record prices are especially hard on low-income and working-class families. They often live paycheck to paycheck in the best of times and coming up with enough money to fill the tank can force painful cutbacks in already inadequate budgets.

Boren knows that many of his constituents are in that situation. They simply can’t afford another price hike in the gas they need to get to work or the fuel that heats their homes.

And that’s exactly what higher energy taxes would do — raise retail prices of the fuels all of us need to live our lives.

This has been proven in the past. In the 1980s, Congress passed a windfall profits tax on U.S. energy companies. We saw domestic production decline, gasoline prices rise and our dependence on foreign fuel imports grow worse every year. There’s absolutely no reason to think that higher taxes today would have any different outcome.

Yet some members of Congress persist in calling for higher taxes and increased regulation on the U.S. companies that work to meet as much of our energy demand as possible with fuel produced right here at home, energy that we don’t have to buy from some other country, energy that is produced by American workers, giving them the means to provide for their families, and most importantly, domestic energy that increases supplies and helps keep prices in check for everyone.

The proponents of these additional taxes insist that they are necessary to fund the development of new, alternative energy sources. But that’s not really the case.

Alternative fuels are important to our future energy security and everyone wants them to succeed. But they must succeed on their own merits, not as the result of expensive government supports and usage mandates.

The market will determine when alternative fuels are ready to play a bigger role in our energy supply. Trying to force them onto consumers before they are technologically and economically viable is a mistake and will almost certainly lead to market disruptions and higher prices.

The United States must adopt sensible, practical energy policies that encourage optimal domestic production and provide consumers with fuel they can afford. Loading us down with higher taxes will never accomplish that.

House and Senate conferees are currently meeting to decide if new taxes will be a part of the 2007 energy bill. Take a moment to call or email all of your representatives in Washington and let them know that we want no part of higher taxes and the higher prices they will bring.

Harry C. Alford is president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, 1350 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 405, Washington, D.C.