Ed Markey: “But we need to start by first eliminating unnecessary taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies. As a result of a poorly…”

“But we need to start by first eliminating unnecessary taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies. As a result of a poorly drafted law passed by the Republican Congress in 1995, oil companies are now drilling for free on public lands offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The Government Accountability Office projects that the American people currently stand to lose as much as $53 billion in royalty payments over the life of these leases. And according to a brand new study, that's as much as $1.5 billion just this year. And with oil prices at $90 a barrel, we do not have to be allowing them to drill on public lands for free and take all of the profit for themselves and giving nothing back to the American taxpayer. This amendment is very simple. It says to these companies we will allow you to continue to drill and not even pay any royalties, but we're not going to give you an opportunity to bid on any new leases on public lands in our country. But we need that $53 billion that they owe in royalties, in taxes to be put towards reducing the Federal deficit.”