Obama: Congress should end oil subsidies
President Obama urges Congress to eliminate tax breaks for oil and gas companies
/ Charles DharapakUPDATED 12:29 p.m. ET
(CBS News) -- President Obama on Thursday urged Congress to drop billions of dollars in tax breaks that amount to subsidies for the largest oil firms operating in the United States, which he noted were showing record profits as millions of Americans watch rising gas prices strain their household budgets.
"I think it is time they got by without more help from taxpayers," Mr. Obama said in remarks in the White House Rose Garden, "the oil industry is doing just fine."
Mr. Obama's push came minutes before the Senate voted down a bill that would have repealed the subsidies.
With strong opposition from Republicans, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez was only able to get 50 additional senators to agree to back his legislation. 60 votes were needed for approval. Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe was the only Republican to back the bill, while four Democrats voted against the measure, including Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.
Rising gas prices are a major concern at the White House and in Chicago, where Mr. Obama's campaign is preparing for a fight to the finish with the Republican nominee for president.
Republicans oppose ending the tax breaks and note that any increase in the price of production of any given item is likely to result in higher prices down the line, in this case at the pump.
The president cast the issue as taxpayers paying the oil companies twice.
"You're already paying a premium at the pump right now. And on top of that, Congress thinks it's a good idea to send billions more of your tax dollars to the oil industry," Mr. Obama said.Had it been approved, the Menendez bill would have repealed about $24 billion over a decade in tax breaks extended to ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell.
About half the money would have been used to pay down the deficit and the other half would be used to spur renewable energy production and promote energy efficiency.
"Instead of taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double-down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising," Mr. Obama said.
"Investments in wind power and solar power and biofuels; in fuel-efficient cars and trucks and homes and buildings. That's the future. That's the only way we'll break this cycle of high gas prices that happens year after year after year," the president said.
Additional reporting by CBS News Senate producer John Nolen.
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But too-big-to-fail isn't a problem that we need to be trying to address at all, really. In fact the problem is that we're taxing the oil companies too much and should increase the subsidies.
Right.
Obama has spent more in three years that Bush had in eight.
If you eliminate oil subsidies the oil companies will pass on the resulting higher costs to the consumer.
If you confiscated every dime owned by those evil rich people it would not put a dent in the interest paid on the defecit, the line of crapp that rich need to pay more to solve defecits and spending is purely political and has basis in truth and reality. The rich already pay over 80% of all income tax collected, 47% of America pays no income tax, 80 million entitlement checks go out every single month.
the government takes in more revenue taxing a gallon of gasoline than the oil companies make in profit for that same gallon.
Every aspect of modern society relys on fossil fuel and will continue too far into the future.
Obama has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on failed pie in the sky "green technonlogy" that is decades away from being cost effective and practical, the motivator for these failed policies is strictly rooted in politics and not reality.
all one can hope is Obama gets his way with this one so it can insure no chance of re-election
Facts don't exist by themselves. You have to understand the things around them that brought them about. Relying purely on a knee-jerk reaction to raw and unqualified facts is not intelligent analysis.
The problem isn't under-taxing. The problem is over-spending. Obama continues to refuse to cut spending, instead blaming everyone else for "not paying enough" to cover the cost of his insane spending spree.
************************
The problem is over-spending on STUPID projects the lobbyists push down everybody's throat (not on the public welfare) AND on "under-taxing" the wealthies among us. Tax breaks for BIG BUSINESS (just to make their profit margin grow) helps NOBODY! (except maybe those high up execs who have been getting those big bonuses) We need to trim the fat, cut the WASTED spending not the necessities and stop the tax breaks, loopholes and such AND revise the tax code so the tax burden is distributed more evenly among everyone.
What Bush did to America is a crime, taxes have to be imposed on the wealthiest who have doubled their income while paying the lowest tax decades.
You don't go to endless war without having the troops to do it..
Some of our guys have been to war far too long. They are bushed.
You don't go to war without a way to pay for it.
Our national debt now exceeds our GDP....for those of you that don't know what that is///it's the amount of wealth the country generates in a year, some have recently blamed President Obama, but this is routed to Bush as he inherited a surplus, and if Gore had been elected, today there would be no debt crisis.
Energy subsidies are the sordid legacy of more than sixty years of politics as usual in Washington, and they cost us somewhere around $20 billion a year.
A very simple solution to the current mess: eliminate all energy subsidies. Yes, eliminate them all -- for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, ethanol, even for wind and solar.
Energy subsidies undermine the working of the free market, and they make rational approaches to long-term energy challenges and climate change impossible.
It will be better for national security, the balance of payments, the budget deficit, and even, believe it or not, the environment. Indeed, because wind, solar, and other green energy sources get only the tiniest sliver of the overall subsidy pie, they'll have a competitive advantage in the long term if all subsidies, including the huge ones for fossil fuels, are eliminated.
Come on, let's be fiscally responsible for once and end ALL energy subsidies in 2012!
This Administration has the idea that the Oil Companies need to get punished for raising gas prices. The absolute fact of the matter is that if you end oil subsidies it forces the Oil Comanies to raise the price of Gas. That is what this Administration really wants anyway!
No one wants of the Govt teat even when they can stand on their own.
There are no adults in Washington; just partisans trying to promote their own and take away from others' causes.
There will be giveaways to partisan interests and take awayfrom others and the deficit will stay high. Also there will be no revenue improvement,except for as the economy rises and falls.
Energy subsidies are the sordid legacy of more than sixty years of politics as usual in Washington, and they cost us somewhere around $20 billion a year.
A very simple solution to the current mess: eliminate all energy subsidies. Yes, eliminate them all -- for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, ethanol, even for wind and solar.
Energy subsidies undermine the working of the free market, and they make rational approaches to long-term energy challenges and climate change impossible.
It will be better for national security, the balance of payments, the budget deficit, and even, believe it or not, the environment. Indeed, because wind, solar, and other green energy sources get only the tiniest sliver of the overall subsidy pie, they'll have a competitive advantage in the long term if all subsidies, including the huge ones for fossil fuels, are eliminated.
Come on, let's be fiscally responsible for once and end ALL energy subsidies in 2012!
Boehner has a tantrum and screams his head off at the mere suggestion that we stop subsidizing the oil companies and ask the wealthy to actually pay their fair share in taxes.
Ryan and Cantor are doing their level best to destroy Social Security and Medicare.
Screw the fact that taxpayers paid into what was supposed to be an untouchable Trust Fund to be used for their retirement.
Ryan and Cantor couldn't care less.
In the state where I live our state legislators raided what were supposed to be funds used only for road maintenance, repairs, transportation etc.
Now; Governor O'Malley wants to add a 6% tax on gasoline to what are already the highest state gasoline taxes in the in the country.
Why do the American people continue to allow these corrupt politicians to continue to rob us blind and get away with it.
Instead of being re-elected; these people should be prosecuted and made to re-imburse the public for the betrayal of our trust.
The same goes for Goldman Sachs, other banks that were supposedly too big to fail, Wall Street, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, mortgage lending companies and the list goes on and on.
If you or I had perpetrated these crimes against Americans; we would be in jail for the rest of our lives.
But not for these traitors.!
In a country that was already drowning in debt our "leaders" took even more from taxpayers and bailed these crooks out with more of our money.
What's wrong with this picture.??
No, President Obama clearly understands that BIG OIL profits in 2011 were $132 Billion, and that by finally removing a meager $4 Billion in corporate welfare, they would still have made $128 Billion in profits -- still the most profitable industry in the history of the world!
"Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 with a public mission to stabilize the nation's residential mortgage markets and expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing. Our statutory mission is to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the U.S. housing market."
"Freddie Mac is operating under a conservatorship that began on September 6, 2008, conducting our business under the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)."
"The company is regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency."
Yes, there is a reference to "company" but few private companies operate under strict government restraints. If the Federal government has oversight of Freddie and Fannie, look at the mess that was created. Do we want more government control?