House Dems Urge Super Committee To Cut Oil Subsidies

By Mike Hothi

Leading a group of 35 House Democrats, Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) have proposed that the Super Committee cut subsidies for oil companies in order to reduce the nation’s debt.

“In the current budgetary environment, the United Stated can no longer afford to give away billions of dollars every year to corporations earning billions of dollars in profits and costing American Taxpayer twice; at the pump and through the tax code,” a letter signed by the 37 Congressman states.

The proposed cuts could reduce the national debt by up to $122 billion over ten years, Welch notes.

According to data from the Treasury Department, cutting these subsidies would reduce domestic oil production less than one half of one percent and increase exploration and production costs less than two percent.

Welch and Blumenauer do not believe the increase in production costs would affect American consumers.

“The United States is only a small producer of the world’s oil, a slight increase in costs for domestic producers will not increase the price Americans pay for gas,” a statement from the two Congressmen reads.

The Congressional Super Committee is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. The deadline to act is November 23 and if the Super Committee fails to meet the bar, there will be automatic cuts across the board, divided between domestic and military programs.