The Hill News

As debate rages in Washington over how to cut the deficit there are growing calls for Congress to end handouts to fossil fuel companies. Last week, we joined leaders of 50 other national and state organizations in sending a letter to the Super Committee calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. We have now been joined by 38 Members of the House of Representatives all of who have sent a similar letter to the committee. The message from both civil society and these Members of Congress could not be more clear -- eliminating these wasteful subsidies could reduce the national debt by $122 billion over ten years while bettering the environment and public health.
 
The Committee should start by eliminating all the subsidies in the federal tax code totaling over $47 billion for fossil fuel companies that the President has targeted for elimination. Eliminating the tax credit for refineries seeking to process dirty tar sands oil could save an additional $1.3 billion! .
 
Another example of a completely unnecessary giveaway to the fossil fuel industry is royalty-free leases on public lands. There is simply no excuse for our government to give away public resources for free, especially when private companies are making billions of dollars in profits off of them. Ending royalty-free oil and gas leases would save taxpayers $9.5 billion over ten years.

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