Mar
3
2008

Congress Hates Big Oil, Except …

… except when a Big Oil company is owned by their favorite dictator. From Investor's Business Daily:

On the surface, H.R. [5351] is awful all by itself. Passing 236-182 last week, the bill scrapped the tax deduction routinely given to the major integrated oil companies — Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips — that helps them explore, extract, refine and market the energy that drives our economy. […]

Congress made this even worse by ensuring that its discrimination against the big oils would benefit Citgo, which happens to be owned by those same companies' worst tormentor abroad — the brutal leftist dictatorship of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Under this bill, the dictator's oil subsidiary keeps its 6% deduction for U.S. domestic manufacturing — the one the American oil companies lose — because Citgo, technically, buys from Chavez.

[Bill number incorrect in the original, corrected here.]

Michelle has further comments. Like all but eight Democratic congresspeople, New Hampshire's Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes voted for this bill.


Last Modified 2012-10-13 6:48 AM EDT