In an attempt to restore some budgetary sanity to the energy bill, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment to eliminate taxpayer-funded subsidies to oil and gas giants to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The amendment was rejected by the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives, 227-203.
Grijalva, the Ranking Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Resources Committee, stated on the floor, "Let there be no misunderstanding. This royalty relief is a subsidy to oil and gas companies. It is unnecessary and is nothing more than corporate welfare for the oil and gas industry."
U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), the Ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, supported the amendment.
"We cannot afford to add to the budget deficit by allowing a costly gift to the biggest multi-national oil companies to do what they are already doing in response to the market," charged Rahall.
According to the Congressional Budget Office the Resources Committee portion of all the tax breaks for the oil and gas industry rings in at one-half billion dollars over the next ten years.
"And we only know how much these tax breaks for these oil and gas giants will cost the American taxpayer for the next ten years. In reality, royalty relief is the gift that keeps on giving," declared Rahall.
Even President Bush, a former oilman, has recently made public comments opposing subsidies for the oil and gas industry.
In today’s Washington Post, the President was quoted as saying, "With oil at more than $50 a barrel, by the way, energy companies do not need taxpayers’- funded incentives to explore for oil and gas."
U.S. Rep. George Miller, a senior Democrat on the Committee from California, stated on the floor, ""Mr. Grijalva should be commended as a hero to the American taxpayers!"
![[New for the Democrats - Committee on Resources - U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, Ranking Democrat - 1329 Longworth HOB - Washington, DC 20015]](news_banner.gif)
