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Washington, DC: The Sierra Club today praised members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for taking America on the path toward a cleaner, more secure energy future. By a vote of 264 to 163, the House today voted to repeal giveaways to Big Oil and instead invest money in the smart energy solutions that will benefit the American people. "On Election Day 2006, Americans rejected the dirty politics wrought by Big Oil's deep pockets and the dirty outdated technologies," said Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club director of National Campaigns. "By supporting this part of the 100 Hours Agenda, the new Congress upholds the pledge made during the election to end corruption, bring about change and bring America closer to a cleaner, safer energy future." While American families have had to cope with skyrocketing energy costs, ExxonMobil and other oil companies raked in record profits-due in no small measure to the generous giveaways engineered by President Bush and his allies in Congress. These included provisions that allowed oil companies to deduct oil and gas exploration costs, deductions that make oil and gas activities eligible for manufacturing tax breaks, and a loophole that allowed oil and gas companies to escape paying some royalties in deep water Gulf of Mexico. "The new Congress took an important first step by repealing the billions of dollars in unnecessary subsidies given to outdated energy industries and redirecting the money to programs that benefit American jobs and families, help end our dangerous oil dependence, and put us on the path toward real energy security," said Dave Hamilton, director of Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program. Congress should now enact and extend several incentives that directly benefit American families and businesses while reducing our global warming emissions, and help break our addiction to oil. Increasing incentives for hybrid cars, efficient appliances and green buildings will reduce energy consumption-eliminating the need for new, costly and potentially dirty power plants-reduce emissions, and save businesses money on their energy bills. Many similar incentives exist or could be created to encourage investments in renewable energy. Businesses and consumers understand that these investments are economically advantageous and environmentally beneficial in the long-term; however, higher initial often act as a barrier. By using incentives to lower the initial costs, Congress can help develop markets and a regulatory environment that dramatically increase investments in efficiency, renewables, and other technologies that directly benefit American families and consumers while protecting our environment and climate. As part of the Change America Now coalition, Sierra Club activists have been working to support the 100 Hours Agenda in districts across the country. |
