Reps in senate block end to tax cuts

Senate Republicans today blocked a proposal to eliminate tax breaks for the nation's biggest oil companies and tax their windfall profits, rejecting Democratic claims that the measure would help ease consumer anger over $4-a-gallon gasoline.

The vote was part of a highly partisan battle with each party sticking to long-held positions while striving to score points with frustrated American consumers.

The Senate fell nine votes short of the 60 votes required to proceed to debate on the measure, which would have wiped out $17 billion in tax breaks over 10 years and created a new levy on "unreasonable" profits collected by the five largest U.S. oil companies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...mail/components
You can't say George and the Repubs don't care about the common man. Keeping those tax cuts in place. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[sup-rbeast]

Funny thing here...McCain was against the Bush tax cuts when they were proposed and now proposes to keep those same tax cuts and give a further cut totaling 300 billion for large corporations. And what's even funnier is those who called Kerry a "flip flop" are the same folks talking so highly of McCain...another "flip flop"..lol

Interesting energy tidbit...

June 10th, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey just published its official results of a groundbreaking study.

Its report confirmed a massive oil reserve in an area the locals have nicknamed the "Bakken," which stretches across North Dakota, Montana and southeastern Saskatchewan.

The new USGS study estimates a whopping 3.65 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken... but here's what they didn't mention:

The reported 3.65 billion barrels of oil mean estimate is for 'undiscovered' oil only, and doesn't include known oil, such as reserves.

In fact, the study reports a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered... compared to the agency's estimate back in 1995.

Discovered over 50 years ago, the Bakken deposit--once impossible to extract--is now being hailed as the single largest oil find in US history.

That's because, today, thanks to breakthrough drilling techniques like horizontal drilling, the Bakken's oil shales can be extracted relatively cheaply.

When that happens, this light, sweet oil will cost Americans just $16 per barrel!

http://www.energyandcapital.com/aqx_...FQLBsgodWHobZA

This is an ad.

[NotSoSilentBob]

The bill wasn't about ending incentives, it was about instituting a 'windfall profits' tax.

It deserved to die a quick death.

You wanna find more info on that? That isn't what the story says. Bush won't back of the millions he gave the oil companies.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Senate Republicans block plan to hit Big Oil with windfall tax

Associated Press

WASHINGTON "? Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response to the record gasoline prices that have the nation fuming.

GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal, arguing that punishing Big Oil won't do a thing to lower the $4-a-gallon-price of gasoline that is sending economic waves across the country. High prices at the pump are threatening everything from summer vacations to Meals on Wheels deliveries to the elderly.

The Democratic energy package would have imposed a 25 percent tax on any "unreasonable"? profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies, which together made $36 billion during the first three months of the year. It also would have given the government more power to address oil market speculation, opened the way for antitrust actions against countries belonging to the OPEC oil cartel, and made energy price gouging a federal crime.

"Americans are furious about what's going on,"? declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. He said they want Congress to do something about oil company profits and the "orgy of speculation"? on oil markets.

But Republican leaders said the Democrats' plan would do harm rather than good "? and they kept the legislation from being brought up for debate and amendments.

On world markets, oil prices retreated a bit Tuesday but remained above $131 a barrel. Gasoline prices edged even higher to a nationwide record average of $4.04 a gallon.

At the Capitol, Democratic leaders needed 60 votes and they got only 51 senators' support, including seven Republicans who bucked their party leaders. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a state tied closely to the oil industry, was the only Democrat opposing the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid voted in favor of the measure, but for procedural reasons changed his vote to "no"? so that he could bring it up again.

"We are hurting as a country. We're hurting individually as Americans ... and the other side says, "?Do nothing. Don't even debate the issue,' "? complained Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

GOP opponents argued that little was to be gained by imposing new taxes on the five U.S. oil giants: Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell Oil Co., BP America Inc. and ConocoPhillips Co.

While these companies may be huge, they don't set world oil prices and raising their taxes would discourage domestic oil production, the Republicans said of the Democrats' plan.

"In the middle of what some are calling the biggest energy shock in a generation ... they proposed as a solution, of all things, a windfall profits tax,"? Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky chided the Democrats. He called their proposal "a gimmick"? that would not lower prices.