Download: Subsidy Gusher: Oil and Gas Subsidies Report - May 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) released “Subsidy Gusher: Taxpayers Stuck with Massive Subsidies while Oil and Gas Profits Soar.” The report describes the nearly $80 billion in subsidies the oil and gas industry will receive over the next five years. It also highlights the nearly $140 million in campaign contributions the industry handed out over the last ten years to influence federal policies.
“In a time of jaw-dropping deficits, taxpayers are being forced to line the pockets of Big Oil while they rake in massive profits,” said Steve Ellis, Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Oil and gas companies should pay their fair share."
The Senate is poised to vote on S.940, the “Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act” which would eliminate some oil and gas subsidies. Ellis explains, “Congress needs to go further, we cannot afford to just look at a few subsidies for a handful of companies, we need to eliminate all of these subsidies as part of an effort to deal with our nation’s fiscal crisis.”
Taxpayers for Common Sense recently signed a letter with 30 groups calling on Congress to, “Begin to dismantle the current system of subsidies. Simply avoiding new subsidies is not enough for the long-term health of America’s economy. Congress should commit to a sustained, aggressive process of eliminating existing subsidies.”
Taxpayers for Common Sense’s advocacy affiliate, TCS Action, will begin a campaign across the country to pressure lawmakers to rein in these subsidies.
TCS is a non-partisan watchdog and we have been fighting for fiscal responsibility in Washington for more than 15 years – working with Democrats and Republicans, and groups on the right and the left. We are best known for our winning campaign against spending “earmarks” and as the original whistle-blower on the “Bridge to Nowhere” – a proposed $380 million Alaskan bridge that became an infamous example of federal waste and a hot button campaign issue in 2008.
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