By Eric Stock

NORMAL – U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) said President Barack Obama should leave low gas prices alone.

Davis says Obama’s proposed $10-per-barrel tax would hurt families that are benefiting from saving money at the pump. Davis told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin if the tax were to pay for road and bridge construction, he might support that, but that was already addressed in the recent federal transportation bill.

“He wants to use it to enact his climate change agenda,” Davis said. “It’s typical Obama playing to his political supporters rather than putting good policies that would actually pass.”

The president’s proposal would finance mass transit, high-speed rail, self-driving cars and other ‘green’ initiatives.

Davis predicted the plan will be ‘dead-on-arrival’ in Congress.

“At a time when families who are working and scraping to send their kids to college and pay for the basic necessities in life are enjoying a little flexibility because they are not paying as much to fill their car, and (President Obama) looks at that as an opportunity to tax them and to raise their prices,’ Davis said.

Davis tours Identity Optical Lab

Davis has his eye on helping lens manufacturers. Davis toured Identity Optical Lab in Normal on Friday. The company is planning a 6,000-square foot expansion and 33 percent increase in its workforce this year. Davis said Central Illinois is a prime spot for manufacturing jobs.

“Any manufacturing expansion in a certain geographical area, especially here in places like Bloomington and Normal, is going to start with a good workforce,” Davis said.

Davis is pushing a bill in Congress that seeks to stop what he calls “anti-competitive practices in the health care industry that limit patient choice and hurt small manufacturers.” It prevents insurance companies from forcing doctors to participate in certain plans. Illinois is one of 35 states that has passed similar legislation.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].