Senator Amy Klobuchar Urges Oil Industry to Embrace the Same Reduction in Tax Credits and Subsidies the Ethanol Industry Has Agreed To

The following is an excerpt from an article by Holly Jessen:

Senator Amy Klobuchar

...in the last decade alone, oil companies have raked in nearly $1 trillion in profits while also benefiting from tax incentives projected to cost the U.S. $50 billion in the next 10 years. Some of the subsidies to the oil industry have been in place for more than 100 years. “It is a question about whether the mature oil industry should continue to receive billions in subsidies at a time when their profits are up 30 percent in the first quarter of 2011,” Senator Amy Klobuchar said. “I'm not against drilling at all. I'm pleased about what's going on in North Dakota right to our west. But when I look at what's happening with this debt right now, we have to be smart about this and this is clearly one place to look for savings.”

“It is a question about whether a hugely profitable industry should continue to enjoy lucrative tax advantages at a time when our nation can least afford it,” she added. “With oil prices much higher than actual costs, the oil industry doesn't need extra money from the government. We must get serious about tackling the deficit and putting our country back on sound fiscal grown.”

Read the whole article here.