Obama keeps up assault on tax breaks for oil companies

President Obama used his weekly address to push his plan to end tax breaks to oil companies. Amid rising gas prices and a heated debate over cutting the federal debt, Obama has targeted the incentives Washington gives the energy industry.

“I don’t have a problem with any company or industry being rewarded for their success. The incentive of healthy profits is what fuels entrepreneurialism and helps drives our economy forward,” Obama said in his Saturday message. “But I do have a problem with the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies we’ve been handing out to oil and gas companies – to the tune of $4 billion a year.”

{mosads}Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Thursday vowed to shepherd a plan through the panel that ends billions of dollars in tax breaks for the largest oil companies. 
Baucus released a short “blueprint” of the plan – which would expand investment in “clean” fuels and efficient vehicles – the same day that oil giants Exxon and Shell reported big gains in first-quarter profits.

The office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) rejected Democratic calls to consider legislation eliminating billions of dollars in tax breaks for the same corporations.
 “The Speaker wants to increase the supply of American energy to lower gas prices and create millions of American jobs,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an email. “Raising taxes will not do that.”

The national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.93, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

The president said in Saturday’s message that he wants an energy policy that increases energy production through traditional and alternative sources.

“We need to operate on all cylinders, and that means pursuing a broad range of energy policies, including safe and responsible oil production here at home,” Obama said.

“But I also believe that instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, we should invest in tomorrow’s – and that’s what we’ve been doing. Already, we’ve seen how the investments we’re making in clean energy can lead to new jobs and new businesses.”