Maloney Hails Bill Passed Ending Oil Company Subsidies
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, after voting for a bill which cuts subsidies to major oil companies and invests the savings in job-creating technologies, stated that at a time when gasoline prices are soaring, the United States needs to invest in programs to create clean energy jobs to protect the environment and national security.

At the time that the bill was voted on and passed last Thursday, Maloney said crude oil prices had reached a record high of $102 per barrel and the average price of a gallon of gasoline at pumps in New York City was $3.31, compared to $2.55 a year ago.

"At the same time," she pointed out, "the five largest oil companies recently reported record profits for 2007, with ExxonMobil earning $40.6 billion, the largest corporate profit in American history."

Maloney (D- Queens/Manhattan) added: "At a time when gasoline prices are sky-high and our dependence on foreign oil is costing us dearly, we need to invest in a greener future and an energy-independent America."

The bill that passed, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, was approved by a 236- 182 vote. It cuts federal subsidies to oil companies by $18 billion and invests the savings in expanded tax credits and other incentives for renewable electricity, energy and fuel.

It would also help to create thousands of new clean-energy jobs in the wind, solar, geothermal and fuel cell technology industries, Maloney said.

The tax savings could also be used to create plug-in hybrid cars, to build energy-efficient homes, buildings and appliances, Maloney said.

In addition, the legislation includes solar energy tax credits that could reduce carbon dioxide pollution by 240 million tons. The Geothermal Energy Association, Maloney said, estimates that the geothermal provisions alone could "create tens of thousands of new jobs and stimulate tens of billions of new investments in geothermal energy production".

Earlier this month, the league of Conservation Voters announced that Maloney earned a perfect 100 percent rating for her record on environmental issues in the 110th Congress.

The League notes on its Web site that the 110th Congress' "biggest environmental highlight of 2007 was the passage and enactment into law of H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act", which boosts fuel economy of cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020- the first such increase for new cars, SUVs and other light trucks since 1975.

In addition, Maloney noted, the League cited legislative provisions to strengthen clean air emissions, halt subsidies for the construction of logging roads in Alaska's Tongass Rainforest, bars oil shale development on publicly owned lands and boosts spending for long underfunded environmental and conservation agencies and programs. Maloney supported all these efforts.