As Americans pay more at the gas pump, President Obama asked Congress recently to end the $4 billion subsidy to oil and gas companies, reports Helene Cooper and Jonathan Weisman at the New York Times. Obama vowed to tackle long-term energy issues while shunning “phony election-year promises about lower gas prices.” He urges Americans to contact their Congressional representatives and demand a vote on the oil subsidies in the next few weeks. “You can either stand up for the oil companies, or you can stand up for the American people,” Mr. Obama said. “You can keep subsidizing a fossil fuel that’s been getting taxpayer dollars for a century, or you can place your bets on a clean-energy future.” The president criticized Republicans who have called for the country to increase its own oil production, declaring that “anyone who tells you we can drill our way out of this problem doesn’t know what they’re talking about.” He noted that “We can’t rely on fossil fuels when the United States consumes more than 20 percent of the world’s oil but only has 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves.”
But this means that in the 2012 elections, Americans will have to vote in representatives who will deliver the green votes necessary to end these wasteful subsidies. This means 60 green voters in the Senate, and a green majority in the House of Representatives.
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Obama seeks to end subsidies for oil and gas companies. President Obama asked Congress on Thursday to end $4 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies and vowed to tackle the country’s long-term energy issues. New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/us/politics/obama-calls-for-an-end-to-subsidies-for-oil-and-gas-companies.html?_r=2
