The Hill News

On Tuesday, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Senate Democrats introduced legislation to increase taxes on the five largest oil companies. On Thursday, senior executives at those same five energy companies accepted a hasty invitation to Capitol Hill to attend a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the taxes paid by their industry.

Both the bill and the hearing were thrown together quickly. But neither were surprising.

Gas prices are higher than ever, as are the profits of oil and gas companies. What government would continue paying billions in incentives and subsidies to energy companies under these conditions, particularly in the middle of a budget crisis? 

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