Contact your senators and tell them to repeal subsidies for Big Oil

[ProSense]

Contact your senators and tell them to repeal subsidies for Big Oil

by Joan McCarter

The Senate vote to advance Sen. Bob Menendez's bill to end Big Oil subsidies is coming up, so now is our chance to weigh in.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid set up a cloture vote for it, scheduled for tomorrow.

Republicans believe the floor debate on the legislation will benefit them politically, amid growing public concern about prices at the pump. The GOP bashed the bill this week, alleging it would burden the oil industry and potentially raise gas prices. “Why we’d have a bill on the floor that would raise gasoline prices, I have no idea,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Tuesday. “But that’s the bill on the floor.”

Democrats countered that oil companies don’t need the tax breaks at a time when they’re making massive profits, painting Republicans as pawns of Big Oil.

"Senate Republicans will never side with American taxpayers against Big Oil," Reid said earlier Tuesday. "It’s against their nature."

Republicans will couch this as "taxing the job creators!" which is mean. No, seriously, it's mean and it's picking on these poor, beleaguered companies. The great populist Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) actually argued that instead of taxing the oil companies (oh, excuse me, "energy producers&quot we should be asking them “What obstacles are there to you making more money?”

The Big 5 oil companies—BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips—made $1 trillion in profits from 2001 to 2011. They made $137 billion last year alone, while average Americans struggled to pay higher and higher energy costs. Last year, just as one example, Chevron paid at the 19 percent rate last year on profits of $26.9 billion.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that removing these oil company tax breaks would raise $24 billion over 10 years. About half of the savings, $11.7 would be used to extend important clean energy tax incentives. The rest would be slated for debt reduction (because you know how important debt reduction is to Republicans!)

It's about time the federal government stop subsidizing an industry that is making obscene profits.

Tell your Senators to vote "Yes" to end Big Oil subsidies.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/28/1078499/-Oil-subsidy-repeal-cloture-vote-set-for-Thursday-

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[ProSense]

2. Big Oil Runs Ads For Scott Brown, Breaking ‘People’s Pledge’ Ad Ban

Big Oil Runs Ads For Scott Brown, Breaking ‘People’s Pledge’ Ad Ban

By Rebecca Leber

The oil lobby group American Petroleum Institute launched ads in Massachusetts late last week on behalf of Koch-funded candidate Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), as part of its $2 million national campaign to protect oil subsidies.

Unfortunately for Brown, the ads violate the “People’s Pledge” he made with Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren earlier this year, banning outside group spending in the race. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign manager Mindy Myers noted the oil-subsidy ads “are funded by big oil and clearly support Brown’s position”:

It has come to our attention that the American Petroleum Institute has been running radio and print ads to support Senator Scott Brown’s position on tax breaks for big oil companies. Given Senator Brown’s past vote in support of these tax breaks, and the fact that these ads are funded by big oil and clearly support Brown’s position on this issue, this is a violation of the People’s Pledge.

According to the agreement, when an ad runs the candidate who benefits must donate the sum to charity. This is already the second time Brown has cut a check because of outside groups supporting his campaign.

<...>

The Warren-Brown deal may minimize dirty Super PAC tactics in their own race, but it doesn’t prevent outside group interests from dictating Brown’s voting record. Koch Industries has donated $15,250 to Brown’s campaign this cycle, and he’s taken in close to $200,000 from oil and gas during his career. Before he voted against the oil subsidy repeal last year, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon contributed to Brown’s campaign.

http://thinkprogress.org/green/2012/03/28/453546/big-oil-runs-ads-for-scott-brown-breaking-peoples-pledge-ad-ban/

[great white snark]

3. Running ads here in Vegas too saying vote no on bill.

Thanks for the call to arms ProSense.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. Pointless to even try.

This is Alaska, after all, and Mark Begich is as much in Big Oil's pocket as Lisa Murkowski is. Sad, but true.

[spanone]

5. k&r...

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ProSense.

[badtoworse]

7. How will this reduce energy costs for consumers?

If it doesn't do that, I'm not in favor of it.