By Susan Ferrechio - Washingtonexaminer.com
The Senate on Tuesday blocked a bill that would end multibillion-dollar tax breaks for the nations five largest oil and gas companies.
Despite the defeat the tax breaks remain on the chopping block because Democrats say they will add the subsidy cuts to a bipartisan plan to cut spending and raise the debt limit that is now being negotiated by Congress and the White House.
I am confident that before we finish our budget negotiations here in anticipation of raising the debt ceiling that that will be part of it Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-Nev. said before the vote.
The Senate voted 52 to 48 in favor of the measure eight votes short of the 60 needed to bring the bill to the floor for debate. Three Democrats joined every Republican in voting against the bill which would save the Treasury $2 billion a year. Democrats touted the bill as a way to help whittle down the nations $1.4 trillion deficit while sparing important programs and services for the poor from deep budget cuts.
Do oil companies really need this extra money that we give them by telling them they dont have to pay the taxes that other companies have to pay? said Sen. Claire McCaskill D-Mo.
Republicans labeled the bill a political stunt by Democrats that could result in higher prices at the gas pump. They argued that the best way to cut gas prices now hovering at $4 per gallon is to increase domestic oil production.
What they are proposing has nothing to do with bringing down the price of gas at the pump said Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas. In fact it will likely increase the price of gas at the pump.
Republicans and Democrats have offered opposing plans aimed at tackling energy prices.
House Republicans last week passed two bills aimed at expanding domestic oil drilling and on Wednesday the Senate is expected to vote on a GOP bill that would speed up the oil drilling permit process.
In addition to the bill to repeal Big Oils tax breaks Democrats are pushing legislation that would produce more alternative energy.
Democrats have also requested that the Federal Trade Commission investigate potential price-fixing of gasoline prices by U.S. refineries which they say are operating nearly 20 percent below capacity and are reporting significant increases in their profit margins since January.
Democrats for the past few weeks have portrayed the oil companies as greedy and insensitive to the struggles of ordinary Americans who will pay on average $800 more for gasoline this year.
Democrats last week summoned the executives of the top five oil companies to a hostile committee hearing in which lawmakers pummeled the executives with accusatory questions about their profits and demanded justification for the tax breaks they receive.
Those attacks continued Tuesday led by Sen. Jay Rockefeller D-W.Va. a great-grandson of an oil tycoon who pointed out that the CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. earned $29 million in compensation last year.
Everybody always caves into them as the fly around in their shiny jets Rockefeller said. I dont think that is going to be the case this time.
