US politics | The Price of Oil

Posts in US politics

Keystone XL and Dirty Energy Money
Steve Kretzmann
Jan11
This morning the Guardian carried a story from Maplight about the influence of oil money over the July vote in the House of Representatives on the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s a classic story about the influence of campaign money over policy that will surprise few but bears repeating often. We ran a similar story about…
Continue reading ‘Keystone XL and Dirty Energy Money’.
Big Oil Threatens President Obama
Steve Kretzmann
Jan04
By Brendan Demelle, DeSmogBlog American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard today announced the oil and gas industry’s latest election-year scare campaign to threaten the demise of the U.S. economy unless Big Oil gets its every wish in Washington. This year the wish list includes approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, expanded offshore drilling on both…
Continue reading ‘Big Oil Threatens President Obama’.
Mitch McConnell Stands Up for Big Oil, Holding Middle Class Tax Cuts Hostage
Steve Kretzmann
Dec16
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced today that he will hold the extension of middle class tax cuts hostage unless an unrelated provision about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project is included—a major handout to his Big Oil donors that could leave millions of Americans facing a tax increase in the new year. So,…
Continue reading ‘Mitch McConnell Stands Up for Big Oil, Holding Middle Class Tax Cuts Hostage’.
“Gas & Oil Party” passes Keystone XL poison pill
Steve Kretzmann
Dec14
Yesterday, Republicans and a few Democrats defied a veto threat from President Obama and passed a bill extending a cut in Social Security payroll taxes which also would fast track a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline and give polluters a variety of other gifts. Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said the Republicans…
Continue reading ‘“Gas & Oil Party” passes Keystone XL poison pill’.
“Liability” Don Young Faces Ethics Probe
Andy Rowell
Dec07
Alaskans are beginning to ask the multi-million dollar question about their veteran politician, and oil-industry stooge, Don Young. At the end of last month, one journalist writing for the Alaskan Dispatch newspaper asked “Are Don Young’s political antics an Alaska asset or liability?” The trouble for Alaskans is that Young, whose slogan is the “Congressman…
Continue reading ‘“Liability” Don Young Faces Ethics Probe’.
Dave Camp: You Get What You Pay For
Lorne Stockman
Nov18
Written by Ross Hammond The fossil fuel industry is nothing if not clever. Rather than try to defend on the merits of their taking billions of dollars a year in government handouts, they’ve decided to change not only the conversation, but the language itself. So for example an attempt to repeal some of the oil…
Continue reading ‘Dave Camp: You Get What You Pay For’.
Pat Toomey: Drill-Baby-Drill, Even in Lake Erie
Lorne Stockman
Nov17
Written by Ross Hammond Residents of Cleveland and Buffalo (where I grew up) might be forgiven if they were not terribly excited about the prospect of having oil rigs off the shores of their fair cities. But according to Supercommittee member Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, drilling for oil in Lake Erie might just be…
Continue reading ‘Pat Toomey: Drill-Baby-Drill, Even in Lake Erie’.
Fred Upton: Dirty Energy’s BFF on the Supercommittee
Lorne Stockman
Nov17
Written by Ross Hammond There may be no better example of the corrupting influence of Dirty Energy Money in the current Congress than Supercommittee member Representative Fred Upton of Michigan. In July Upton warned of the dangers of private lobbying organizations and special interests “operating in an increasingly competitive lobbying realm in Washington—a world where…
Continue reading ‘Fred Upton: Dirty Energy’s BFF on the Supercommittee’.
Factual Statement: Big Oil Gets Billions Each Year in Government Handouts
Lorne Stockman
Nov17
Written by Ross Hammond When it comes to government handouts to the fossil fuel industry, one of the more intractable members of the Supercommittee appears to be Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, who voted in both 2010 and 2011 to continue to give our tax money to Big Oil. Senator Kyl made a name for…
Continue reading ‘Factual Statement: Big Oil Gets Billions Each Year in Government Handouts’.
Will The Real Max Baucus Stand Up Please?
Lorne Stockman
Nov14
In less than two weeks the Congressional Supercommittee must submit a plan to Congress to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. One of the big questions is whether the Supercommittee will recommend cutting billions of dollars in subsidies to the hugely profitable oil, gas and coal industries. According to a group of 36…
Continue reading ‘Will The Real Max Baucus Stand Up Please?’.