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Senior US Republican says oil tax may be needed Reuters ^ | 10/28/5
Posted on 10/28/2005 3:21:21 PM PDT by Crackingham
A senior Senate Republican said he would consider a windfall profit tax on oil companies to generate funds to help poor Americans pay home heating bills that are expected to be sharply higher this winter. Judd Gregg, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said he was concerned that U.S. oil companies were reporting record-high profits when some families will be unable to pay their natural gas and home heating oil bills because of high energy prices. Gregg said he would "pursue options in this area" in coming weeks.
"I believe it is time to take a serious look at reinstituting an excess profit tax on oil companies with the proceeds being put towards the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and deficit reduction," Gregg said in a statement.
On Thursday, Exxon Mobil reported quarterly profits of $9.9 billion amid other record high energy company earnings. The profit announcements prompted Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to say he would ask the top executives of major oil companies to testify on why oil prices are so high.
Gregg, who was given high marks as a conservative Republican in 2004 by the American Conservative Union, acknowledged that it was unusual for him to call for a new tax.
"Some might call this a novel approach for me, but I cannot sit back in good conscience while those in our society struggling to heat their homes are being left in the cold by oil companies," he said.
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