House of Representatives removes oil tax breaks

[eridani]

Source: Washington Post

The House of Representatives brushed aside threats of a White House veto yesterday and voted 236 to 182 in favor of an $18 billion tax package that would rescind a tax break for the five biggest oil companies and use the revenue to boost incentives for wind and solar energy and energy efficiency.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where Democrats face a challenge in getting enough support to bring the bill to a vote. This is the fourth time in the past year that Democrats have tried to get the package adopted.

The Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and big oil companies condemned the bill, which they said would raise fuel prices for consumers, discourage oil and gas exploration in the United States and unfairly discriminate against a single industry while other manufacturers continue to enjoy tax breaks.

But hours after crude oil hit a new high of $102 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, most lawmakers said they saw no reason why the oil industry couldn't pay an additional $1.8 billion a year in taxes over the next 10 years.


Read more: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022808M.shtml

[rpannier]

1. Thanks much for posting

I'm guessing mary landrieux, blache 'I've always relied on the kindness of traitors' lincoln, 'gomer' pryor and joe LIEberman plan on voting with the republikkans against this bill.

[DesEtoiles]

2. George will wet his pants.

[BrotherBuzz]

23. No, he's safe because the senate is not veto proof, and....

he'll be gone when the senate reaches the magic number of Democrats - 60, 63, or something in 08.

[pepperbear]

3. "...most lawmakers said they saw no reason why the oil industry couldn't pay an additional ...

$1.8 billion a year in taxes over the next 10 years."

Which would be a lot more heartbreaking if they weren't still going to be so stinking rich! The problem for them is they just won't be QUITE AS stinking rich.

[harmonicon]

4. congress did something? they didn't cave into Bush?

Pelosi must have been home sick.

[AllyCat]

19. It's not a done deal. They'll cave in the end. Don't fret...n/t

[pinniped]

5. That asshole * said if the tax breaks for oil companies aren't kept in place, gas prices....

could go higher.

Shit, I hope the price of gas doesn't go higher.

Asshole doesn't realize how stupid his comment was, but I'm sure he doesn't give a shit.

[AlphaCentauri]

17. classic of a populist n/t

[horseshoecrab]

6. Good for the house of representatives!

Nice to see this. Keep it up congresspeople!

horseshoecrab

[dmosh42]

7. This is a good move, politically.....

making the 'friends' of the oil companies stand up and be seen. Scumbag is going to veto anything decent, anyway. Do it!

[Judi Lynn]

8. About time! Watch out for the right-wing backlash insisting this move is anti-American.

Maybe another round of anthrax letters.

[acmavm]

9. Discourage exploration for oil? So they're just going to crawl back into the

woodwork like the roaches they are? Right.

[DCKit]

22. A filthy little secret about oil...

is that, above $40/barrel, both exploration and research become affordable WITHOUT subsidies, though that would certainly cut into the insane profits their shareholders have come to expect.

OPEC enabled the Republicons to shut down domestic exploration, alternative energy research as well as any legislative push for efficiency and conservation by simply maintaining the price of imports below that $40 threshold. Now that the price of oil has reached $100, alternatives are becoming economically competitive - with or without subsidies.

Though the U.S. should have gotten serious about getting off oil thirty years ago, ShrubCo has (unintentionally) provided all the proof and incentive we should ever need to ever need to become energy independent and disassociate ourselves from corrupt, oppressive regimes and hundreds of billions in military expenditures due to our dependence on, and defense of OPEC countries. It's too expensive to maintain the level of spending required, and the economic risk clearly outweighs any benefit.

[Major Hogwash]

10. Bush is already salivating over this just thinking about vetoing any such bill.

You know he's not going to let his friends in the oil industry down.

[Klukie]

11. And what were the profits of these oil companies in the past few years?

How much is enough? This really pisses me off. The burden is always placed on us. When is our government going to ask these companies to sacrifice some of their ridiculous profits for the good of the country? I really hope the Senate can muster the balls to vote for this.

[yellerpup]

12. Get ready for another long, incoherent news conference.

The price of oil will continue to climb whether big oil gets the breaks for not. That's the reason B*** was installed in the WH--to bring $5/gal. gas to 'Merka.

[YankmeCrankme]

13. They could pay this 10 year tax all in one quarter and still have made a profit. nt

[Greyhound]

15. Yep the smallest of the big 5 could pay the whole tax for the next 10

years and it would only represent a little over half of the profits they couldn't hide in one quarter.

[Winterblues]

20. Just one company Exxon could easily pay this tax in one month

and still have comfortable profit. Right now Exxon makes a Net Profit after All expenses are paid OVER One hundred million dollars a DAY every single day, day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year, for over four straight years. And they act as if this little tax will hurt them even the slightest. Gas Prices are already predicted to rise to over $4.00 so apparently tax credits don't hold down prices at all just add to Profit.

[L0oniX]

14. And now they will just go ahead and raise gas prices to $4 a gallon

[flakey_foont]

16. oh, I see

Now....they are concerned about rising consumer prices!!!!! wankers

[AllyCat]

18. Over TEN years??? Jeez, this is pocket change for the $40B a quarter crowd.

I mean, I'm glad they are doing this. It will likely get axed in the end as they kowtow to the Chimperor again, but is that all this is about? $1.8B over ten years?? And yes, I'd like to discourage oil and gas exploration in the US. And they will raise their prices so they can continue to reap their taxpayer-supplied windfall. But at least we'll have some money to put into alternative energy.

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

21. Lets see where the Maverick (gag) votes on this one?