Strike Three for McCain on Renewable Energy?
by David Sassoon - Feb 28th, 2008
Yesterday the House passed a bill to continue and accelerate development of clean, renewable energy in America. Here's what the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming had to say about the bill:
The legislation passed today will increase incentives for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, close a major tax loophole for the largest gas guzzlers on the road, and repeal billions of dollars in taxpayer giveaways to the five most profitable oil companies at a time of record profits from $100 per barrel oil.
The oil industry giveaways amount to $17 billion over the next ten years, and repealing these subsidies frees up the revenue needed to pay for clean energy development. But because of this, the bill faces an uncertain future. In the Senate, the leading Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Pete Domenici, said about the bill: "It seems kind of dumb to me." And no surprise, the White House has promised a certain veto.
Republicans are arguing that repeal of the oil industry subsidies will lead to higher gas prices, reduced domestic production and increased reliance on foreign oil.
Good political sound bites all -- for scaring voters -- but none of them true. The domestic oil industry will not even notice that the tax subsidies have ceased. They amount to $1.7 billion a year. If spread evenly across five companies -- about $340 million off the bottom line of each.
For Exxon, which last year had a profit of $40 billion, and for the industry, which last year recorded $123 billion in profits -- that represents about eight-tenths of one percent (0.8%) of profits. It's a rounding error that will have no impact on the industry's ability to increase domestic production or on the US consumption of foreign oil.
"It's pretty much nothing, more symbolic than anything," Mario Lopez-Alcala, a senior analyst at Innovest Strategic Value Advisors said. "Providing incentives to low carbon technologies is a good policy accelerator that removes obstacles."
Enter presumptive Republican nominee John McCain into the Senate chamber, where the bill is now headed. It has been well-documented that McCain has twice skipped out on casting the deciding vote on previous opportunities to support renewable energy in a similar fashion. Will he be caught looking, again, and get punched out -- strike three?
Or will a slugger step up to the plate and try for the long ball?
What would happen if McCain took leadership of his party today? He corrals his Senate colleagues, pays a visit to the Oval office, and uses the media to rally bipartisan support for a sorely needed bill that preserves jobs, stimulates the economy and helps everyone.
Will there be joy in Muddville? The end of this poem is still being written.
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"Are these drugs really much different than, say, morphine?" Pretty sure, the answer is no
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