GOP To Give Big Oil Tax Breaks To Export America's Heating Oil

Tomorrow, with the blessing of the Prez, the U.S. House of Representatives will grant new tax and environmental breaks to oil refiners to build new oil refineries. Even if Big Oil bites and builds, though, there's nothing to stop the companies from exporting their supply because the Bush Administration doesn't support regulation on the refineries.

Today my Foudation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights warned in a letter to Bush that oil producers' exporting of heating oil will cause unprecedented price spikes this winter if the Administration does not halt the exports. 1.5 billion more gallons of liquid heating products were exported in the first seven months of 2005 than during the same period in 2004.

In the first seven months of this year, the oil companies exported over 96 million barrels (4 billion gallons) of fuel oil. The amount is 48 times the volume of the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve. With winter approaching, oil company exporting has again set the stage for a price spike.

On Friday the House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation, sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, giving new tax breaks and waivers from environmental regulations to oil refiners to increase refinery capacity. Without regulation of oil refiners, oil companies can use new tax breaks to create new product that they simply export to drive up prices in the U.S. once again.

Will the Democrats make a stand for supply-side regulation of the industry in the Senate? Or will they simply continue to be against the President Bush's attack on the environment without being for regulation that helps both the consumer and the planet?