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House Budget Chair Ryan backs cutting oil subsidies

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House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) arrives to listen to President Barack Obama deliver a speech on U.S. fiscal and budgetary deficit policy at the George Washington University in Washington, April 13, 2011. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) arrives to listen to President Barack Obama deliver a speech on U.S. fiscal and budgetary deficit policy at the George Washington University in Washington, April 13, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON | Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:17am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said on Thursday he supports cutting tax breaks for the oil industry as lawmakers search for ways to battle rising gasoline prices.

In response to a question at a town hall meeting in Waterford, Wisconsin, the Republican congressman said he agreed that oil company subsidies should end.

"We're talking about reforming the safety net, the welfare system, we also want to get rid of corporate welfare," Ryan said to applause.

A video of the question and answer was posted online in a blog run by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund.

A spokesman for Ryan was not immediately available for comment.

A statement from his office to the Politico news organization said the House of Representatives-passed budget resolution "clearly states that as part of an overall corporate tax reform, tax loopholes and deductions for all corporations should be scaled back or eliminated entirely. That obviously includes oil companies."

On Monday, House Speaker John Boehner said Congress should "take a look" at the multibillion-dollar subsidies to oil companies.

"It's certainly something we should be looking at," Boehner said in an ABC News interview. "We're in a time when the federal government's short on revenues. They ought to be paying their fair share."

U.S. President Barack Obama sent a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday urging them to follow up on his repeated calls to scrap $4 billion in subsidies to the oil and gas industry.

Republicans long have argued that killing the tax breaks ultimately would increase, not lower, retail gasoline prices.

The Energy Department said on Monday retail gasoline prices increased for the fifth week in a row with the national price for regular unleaded gasoline at $3.88 a gallon.

Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is contributing to rising fuel prices.

(Reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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Comments (13)
KimoLee wrote:
Today I heard that Exxon made 11 BILLION last year. And we provide subsidies??? Then I saw a “petroleum industry” ad stating that 2/3 of the oil used in our country is from the U.S. So what gives? The media keeps saying that prices are high ($4.30+ in California today) because of the Middle East. But they only supply 1/3 of U.S. oil right? That means we are being burned by our fellow countrymen. I’m so sick of being RIPPED OFF. Aren’t you?

Apr 29, 2011 2:06am EDT  --  Report as abuse
xyz2055 wrote:
These guys are something else! On Wednesday Boehner rips Obama on wanting to cut the oil industry tax incentives (which have neither created or saved any jobs from going overseas nor spurred any additional oil production as they were intended to do) saying it would cause gas and oil prices to go higher. The oil companies simply took the money and said thank you very much. Exxon claims that over the past 5 years they have paid $59B in taxes and made only $41B in profit. BS! Exxon has a history of distorting those numbers. Hard to justify a 50% increase in profit (comparing year to year quarters) when this isn’t a single refinery anywhere that lacks for oil to refine or a single gas station on the planet that can’t sell you all the gasoline you want. There is no shortage of oil. Big oil and the Middle East are the beneficiaries of Speculators at commodity exchanges around the world. Who are also making a ton of money at the expense of the rest of us. The Saudi’s cut production 800,000 barrels a day this month cause the markets are so flush with oil that they couldn’t sell all the oil they were pumping.

Apr 29, 2011 2:10am EDT  --  Report as abuse
xyz2055 wrote:
KimoLee..less than 20% of our imported oil comes from the middle east (mostly Saudi Arabia). Canada and Mexico are where we get the majority of our imported oil. Canada being by far and a way the largest. I haven’t heard of any unrest in Canada…have you?

Apr 29, 2011 2:23am EDT  --  Report as abuse
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