H.R. 3919. The vote is on the Bradley-Chafee amendment to increase the tax rate on oil discovered between 1973 and 1978 from 60% to 75%. This would have increased the windfall profits tax paid by the oil companies by about $22 billion. The money would have been used to ease the burden on poor people who were hardest hit by the decontrol of energy prices, and for energy conservation and the development of new energy sources. The oil companies tried to argue that their taxes should be kept low because increased profits gave them increased motivation to explore and develop new sources of oil. But this tax was on oil already discovered and developed, where profits reaped from decontrol would not result in any additional output. The Administration supported the amendment. December 4, 1979. Passed 58-35. YES is the correct vote.