The brave 35

35 Congressmen Move to Kill $122 Billion in Subsidies to Big Oil

Who likes oil subsidies? Nobody! Nobody but the oil companies, that is. But as we know, these subsidies, which American taxpayers annually spend billions of dollars on, are extremely difficult to kill. But 35 US congressmen and women are going to try: They've just drafted a motion to the so-called 'super committee' charged with reducing the deficit, asking it to remove $122 billion worth of oil subsidies from the federal budget.

In the current budgetary environment, the United States can no longer afford to give away billions of dollars every year to corporations earning billions of dollars in profits and costing American taxpayers twice: at the pump and through the tax code. We urge the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to consider eliminating subsidies for fossil fuels as an excellent source of deficit reducing savings. According to a coalition of organizations, eliminating subsidies to the fossil fuels industry could reduce our national debt by up to $122 billion over ten years.

Why do I call them brave?  Because they knew they will be targeted by the oil companies, lobbyists and Koch Bros.  They knew when they drafted that motion that their next political opponent will be rolling the the oil-backed dough.