{Political_Views} Fwd: Oil subsidies fight is not over

Despite overwhelming public demand to end oil industry subsidies, Big Oil held onto its $4 billion in federal handouts. But there is some good news in last month's Senate vote that we can use in our ongoing work for sustainable energy policies. We gained 6 votes since the last attempt to stop gratuitous government giveaways to the oil industry. In February, the Senate voted 54-44 to kill an amendment that would have ended certain tax breaks for Big Oil. Increased constituent pressure helped Public Citizen and its partners move 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans and 1 Independent to the sensible side of the debate about corporate welfare. See how your senators voted. We now definitively know who stands with the American people and who stands with the oil industry. Senators who voted against repealing oil subsidies have received an average of $370,664 each in campaign contributions from the employees and political action committees of oil and gas companies. Senators who voted for repeal received just $72,145, on average, from the industry. Find out how much your senators have received from the oil and gas industry. We will have another crack at the repeal this summer. Both the White House and Senate Democratic leadership have vowed to keep the issue alive. Senator Reid has indicated that the measure to repeal key oil subsidies will be included in the party's deficit reduction proposal. Budget negotiations will unfold in advance of the August 2 deadline to determine whether to raise the debt ceiling. We are more resolute than ever to hold Big Oil accountable and fight for a clean energy economy. Tragic events like last year's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, crippling gas prices, and imminent climate change are danger signs on the oil dependency path. We can longer afford to let the oil and gas industry dictate energy policy. See Public Citizen's platform for holding Big Oil accountable. Thank you for all you do, Allison Fisher Outreach Director Public Citizen's Climate & Energy Program P.S. Want to stay plugged in to breaking energy developments and get insider insight on the latest energy and climate news? Follow Public Citizen's Energy Director, Tyson Slocum, on Twitter. Go to http://action.citizen.org/unsubscribe.jsp if you do not want to receive future emails from Public Citizen. © 2011 Public Citizen • 1600 20th Street, NW / Washington, D.C. 20009 • www.citizen.org

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