http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-09.html Environment News Service: AmeriScan: January 31, 2002
Green Scissors: Subsidies To Energy Industry Set To Double WASHINGTON, DC, January 31, 2002 (ENS) - Government subsidies to oil, coal and nuclear power industries could double if the Senate approves a House drafted energy bill (HR 4), according to a report released today by the Green Scissors Campaign, a coalition of environmental and citizens groups. Led by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the Green Scissors Campaign works with Congress and the administration to end environmentally harmful and wasteful spending. "Running on Empty: How Environmentally Harmful Energy Subsidies Siphon Billions from Taxpayers" details new and existing subsidies to oil, coal, gas and nuclear power industries that would total $62 billion over the next 10 years. "The richest polluters in the land are already raking in enormous, mind-boggling handouts," said Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth, director of the Green Scissors Campaign. "And our leaders want to give them more while our economy is struggling? It's time for President Bush and Congress to put a stop to this outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars." The report estimates that existing subsidies and tax breaks to polluting energy industries totaling $33 billion will nearly double, to $62 billion, if the House energy bill is signed into law. Coal, oil and nuclear industry allies in Congress are promoting these new subsidies despite the erosion over the past year of a four year budget surplus into a $100 billion deficit. The report documents some of the tax breaks and subsidies that energy giants such as Enron lobbied for in the House energy bill. The now bankrupt Enron, which paid no corporate income tax in four of the last five years, would have benefited from tax breaks on pipelines as well as royalty subsidies in the House bill. These handouts, combined, total $4.9 billion dollars to industry over the next decade. Both ChevronTexaco and British Petroleum have vast assets in the Gulf of Mexico and could benefit from royalty relief and research and development programs targeted towards activities in the Gulf. The Senate is poised to begin debate on its own energy bill (S 1766) in the next few weeks. While the legislation is incomplete, some subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy are already emerging. "The subsidies and tax breaks in HR 4 reward the oil, coal and nuclear industries that dirty our water and foul our air," added U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) staff attorney Pierre Sadik. "The Senate should reject these enormous polluter giveaways, and move us toward a cleaner, smarter, and more secure energy future." The Sustainable Energy Coalition rejected the president's call in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday to pass HR 4. Said Susanna Drayne, "The House bill sets back national energy policy with handouts to already profitable and mature industries. It relies on dirty, expensive, and dangerous fossil fuels and nuclear power. The United States has three percent of global oil reserves but accounts for 25 percent of global demand, and no amount of drilling at home will enable us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil." "A sound energy policy," said Drayne, "should give priority to increasing energy efficiency in every sector of our economy and greatly expanding use of our abundant renewable energy resources." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE credit report with a FREE CreditCheck Monitoring Service trial http://us.click.yahoo.com/ACHqaB/bQ8CAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
