Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 2204, which is my legislation to repeal Big Oil subsidies. This bill is pretty simple. We end wasteful subsidies to the big five oil companies, and we use those proceeds to invest in clean energy, in creating jobs, and reducing the deficit. I think the American people are sick and tired of paying ridiculously high gasoline prices at the pump and then paying Big Oil again with our collective taxpayer subsidies. I think that money is better spent keeping our economy going and developing alternatives to oil that will create competition in the marketplace and help to reduce gas prices. We are poised to waste $24 billion over the next 10 years subsidizing only five companies that are poised to make over $1 trillion in profits--not proceeds, in profits--over the same time frame. And as we all pay more at the pump, Big Oil rakes in more money. Exxon boasts in its Securities and Exchange Commission filings that for every $1 increase in the price of oil, their profits rise by $375 million. For every $1 the price of oil goes up, they boast in their filings that their profits--not proceeds, profits--rise by $375 million. The American driver's pain is Big Oil's profit. What is Big Oil doing with its profits? Well, the answer is not useful. As you can see in this chart, the profits from the big five oil companies were $137 billion in 2011. That is an impressive 75-percent increase from 2010.…”