Posted: May 11, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Compare and Contrast

Rather than looking to end the massive subsidies for big oil companies as a responsible way to ensure big corporations are carrying their responsibility toward reducing the debt, incumbent Congressman Rehberg has actually voted against a measure that would end giveaways for big oil.

Yep.  In light of record deficits and rising gas prices, massive subsidies for big oil companies are falling under Congressional scrutiny.  I knew the oil industry was subsidized, but I was surprised to learn that the nation’s biggest oil companies—Exxon Mobile, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron and Conoco Phillips—receive about $2 billion a year in taxpayer-funded subsidies–despite rising profits.

Rehberg has problems with this issue that are likely to impact his campaign for U.S. Senate against the popular farmer, Jon Tester.  Not long after telling Montanans that ending subsidies for big oil was ‘on the table’, Congressman Rehberg voted against a bill in the House to end giveaways for big oil.
Although Congressman Rehberg ended up voting to maintain the subsidies, he previously told Montanans,

“If we were able to eliminate whatever subsidies the people were talking about in the mainstream media, it would not affect the price of gasoline right now.”

He’s trying to have it both ways so we’ll be fooled in to believing that he has a common sense position on the issue.  He doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Jon Tester is sponsoring the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act, to which he contributed two key measures:
•    One that would close a loophole that allows big oil to write off foreign royalty payments as taxes, which allows these corporations to avoid paying their fair share.
•    Another to require companies like BP to pay maximum fines if they are a responsible for massive oil spills.

7 comments

  2. Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers

    WTF? This it totally f*cked up. Wonder where Dopey lands on this one? As I mentioned before, it’s pretty much over. The big dick, cheney and his Kock allies have won. Perpetual war for perpetual profit unTIL all the money’s gone.

    http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/11-7

    THIS is why you can’t have health care, social security, medicaire, a job, etc., and on and on and on! They aren’t even trying to hide it any more. Can we please call it fascism now? How bout it paddy williams? Is it still democracy? If we just be nice to the nazis, maybe they’ll be nice back, right?

  4. Lt. Col (Ret, Army) Richard Liebert

    Big Oil should be writing checks for our US Defense Department for all we’ve done to PROTECT their interests, and they have the nerve to suggest it’s UN-AMERICAN to insist that Congress terminate subsidies that are over a century old!? Would they call me un-American as I advocate we need to reduce defense spending, so why do they insist on ‘unshared prosperity’? In 2005 the oil execs said they didn’t need the subsidies when then President Bush ‘suggested’ the subsidies not vital, especially when oil was $55 a barrel. The shamelss pandering to these corporate PARASITES is astounding, and especially any politicians that go along with their farce.