Washington, D.C. — Today as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on amendments to the Surface Transportation Bill, Daniel J. Weiss, CAP Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Change Policy, released the following statement:
Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) amendment #1589 would eliminate many energy tax breaks that encourage investments in clean alternative fuels, advanced vehicles, and clean electricity. His amendment would make us more dependent on foreign oil and dirty electricity.
The amendment would also eliminate several small tax breaks for Big Oil companies, which is the seed of a good idea. But it leaves too many others intact—and they are worth a total of $40 billion per decade.
Tax break recipients include the five largest oil companies—BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell—that made a combined record profit of $137 billion in 2011. These companies invested nearly one-third of these earnings buying back their own stock, and have nearly $60 billion in cash reserves. The last thing they need is $40 billion from taxpayers.
The DeMint amendment would continue the vast majority of the $40 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil companies, which is like removing the cherry before feeding a huge hot fudge sundae to a hog.
To speak with Daniel J. Weiss, please contact Christina DiPasquale at 202.481.8181 or [email protected].
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