Ryan Alexander, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, speaking at the introduction of the Comprehensive Fossil Fuel Subsidy Bill by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Keith Ellison (D, MN)

Thank you, Senator Sanders, for inviting me to join you today. Some of you might be wondering what Taxpayers for Common Sense is doing at an event with progressive leaders and environmental groups. But it turns out, we all agree very strongly on something: the time has come to end taxpayer handouts to the fossil fuel industry. And that is why Taxpayers for Common Sense is pleased to support the introduction of this bicameral legislation offered by Senator Sanders (I-VT) and Congressman Ellison (D- MN) to eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The nation is staring at a $15 trillion debt and trillion dollar annual deficits for the next decade. As a national non-partisan budget watchdog we can tell you, the time to trim fat is now. This bill eliminates more than $110 billion in fossil fuel subsidies over the next ten years.

Today, tax and energy policy reflect political power rather than national needs. Cutting fossil fuel subsidies both eliminates wasteful giveaways to very profitable companies and starts to unravel the system that has protected these handouts for too long.

For nearly a century big oil and king coal have fed at the federal trough. These subsidies have taken many forms and are often buried in the tax code or hidden in outdated legislation. From direct spending and grants, tax breaks, and loan guarantees, to mandates, price guarantees, long-term contracts, risk and accident insurance, and clean-up liability—our nation’s energy sector has benefitted greatly from federal handouts. And this tangled web of subsidies sometimes works at cross purposes, undercutting other energy subsidies. All of these incentives should be on the table, starting with some of the biggest and most sacred cows, like the fossil fuel industry.

All energy sectors have received taxpayer subsidies — be it for the last year, decade, or century. But none for as long as the fossil fuel industry. Many subsidies like the intangible drilling costs and percentage depletion allowance date back to the early 1900s. As soon as there was a tax code, the oil industry was getting breaks. These subsidies have long outlived their useful life. The oil and gas industry is well-established and highly profitable; it should bear its own costs of doing business.

The time to end these massive giveaways is now. Big oil raked in more than $150 billion in profits last year. Gas prices are hovering near $4/gallon. The end to record earnings is nowhere in sight. Yet despite this, taxpayers continue to give tax breaks, royalty relief, and other lucrative subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

Any way you look at it, Congress has created a Gordian knot of energy subsidies and it’s time we cut it. We must end the market distorting and illogical set of taxpayer handouts across the energy sectors, level the playing field, and let the most efficient and competitive technologies thrive.

We applaud Senator Sanders and Representative Ellison for introducing the most comprehensive bill yet to end energy subsidies. Taxpayers can no longer take on the risks and costs while the fossil fuel industry pockets profits. Today we urge you to support the Sanders-Ellison bill; tomorrow we can tackle the rest of the subsidies.