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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today assailed Republicans in Congress for continuing to give handouts to the oil and gas industry even as the largest companies posted new record profits. Pallone is the sponsor of the Gas Price Relief and Oil Conservation Act of 2005, which mandates limits on oil and gas companies' profits.
"The pain New Jerseyans feel at the pump is turning into pleasure for oil and gas company executives," Pallone said. "I'm appalled more and more every day when I hear how rich these companies are getting -- and how many favors their Republican friends in Congress are handing out."
ExxonMobil today announced nearly $10 billion in profits for the past three months, a 75 percent increase from the previous quarter and a new record for corporate net income. Their profits topped those announced at Shell, who pulled in $9 billion over the same time. Profits at the world's five largest publicly-traded oil companies (Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, Chevron and France's Total SA) are expected to reach a combined $106.7 billion for 2005, a 26 percent increase from 2004.
These profit announcements come one day after the House Resources Committee, of which Pallone is a member, passed a bill that would allow oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in waters off the coast of New Jersey and other states. The bill also included a provision preventing the Secretary of the Interior from imposing any new fees or raising existing fees paid by companies that lease federal lands or waters for oil and gas drilling.
During consideration of the bill, Pallone offered an amendment to remove that provision and all of the language that would open currently closed offshore areas to drilling. The amendment was defeated by the committee by a vote of 25-15.
"This Republican Congress is so out of touch with the average consumer that they can watch oil companies rack up new record profits and at the same time give them more gifts," Pallone said. "They clearly want us to have a government run by the corporations and for the corporations."
The House of Representatives has already passed two Republican energy bills that included more than $8 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies while doing little to either increase oil savings or encourage the development of renewable sources of energy. |
