Pascrell Op-ed: Oil Companies Must Stop Fucking New Jersey Drivers
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, published an op-ed in New York’s Bergen Record over the weekend. Jersey calling Big Oil companies are rampantly ripping off American drivers and driving up gas prices across the country and lambasting Republicans in Congress for blocking legislation to stop the scam.
All year, Pascrell has been one of the strongest voices in Congress denouncing Big Oil mining. On March 11, 2022, Pascrell urgently wrote to the executives of the 11 oil and gas companies with revenues over $1 billion demanding answers about their executives’ profits, corporate stock buybacks and enjoyment of benefits. US taxes.
On May 19, 2022, House Democrats passed the Consumer Fuel Pricing Prevention Act (HR 7688) to crack down on gluttonous gas abuse. All House Republicans voted no and Republican senators have been blocking voting on the legislation for 151 days now.
The text of Pascrell’s editorial is below
Oil companies must stop screwing New Jersey drivers at the pump | Opinion
By Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.
This spring, when gas station prices soared amid Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, something was wrong.
It seemed convenient to the energy companies that gas prices were rising only because of the war in Ukraine – and at the exorbitant rates they were rising.
Within weeks of the start of the war with Russia, the average gallon of gasoline in New Jersey jumped nearly a dollar. Jumps in other parts of the country were even higher. On the first day of summer, June 21, gasoline prices in New Jersey peaked at just over $5 a gallon, an increase of about 40% from pre-Secondary rates. war in Ukraine.
While Americans from North Jersey to Southern California were miserable, oil executives were cheerful. The profits of the oil barons have exploded. Oil tycoons were swimming in record profits and announcing frantic share buybacks to fill their wallets and those of their shareholders.
As the only member of the New Jersey House Committee on Tax Policy Change, I began to explore why prices were rising so much.
On our committee, I’m the panel chair of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, which speaks out against abuses of the US tax code. There’s a lot of abuse, so we’re dealing with it. But you’d be hard pressed to find more egregious abuses than giant oil companies manipulating federal tax laws to hand out dividends and buyouts on the backs of Americans hosed down at the gas station.
Early in our investigation, our committee found something very interesting: several major oil companies benefit from a series of generous federal tax benefits paid for by the American public.
So I wrote individually to the heads of the 11 oil and gas companies with revenues over $1 billion. These companies were: Enbridge, Shell, Exxon, BP, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Equinor, ConocoPhillips, Pioneer Natural, Devon and APA. I asked the 11 CEOs how and why they used federal tax credits and tax laws to boost their profits.
The numbers are eye-popping. In 2021, these companies had combined revenue of $133 billion, ranging from $23.5 billion at the high end to $973 million at the low end. Their chief executives have also done well: with compensation in 2021 of up to $33 million.
For months, our committee has tracked and monitored companies. On August 24, the Ways and Means Committee released an official report confirming my suspicions and showing exactly what is happening: these companies have failed to increase production to meet demand. These companies kept production low so their profits could skyrocket – and they used inflation and the war in Ukraine as cover for their greed.
That these companies profited from the misery of Americans is clear – and getting worse. Over the past few weeks, gasoline prices have risen in communities across America. Even in New Jersey, the average gallon of gasoline rose more than 25 cents between Sept. 20 and Oct. 11. And in those same three weeks, the national average went from $3.67 to $3.93.
The anger of Americans at these increases is understandable. Americans’ pleas and frustration with gas prices are heard loud and clear. In Washington, we’ve been tracking gas prices every day and taking aggressive action to fight scams.
On May 19, House Democrats passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, landmark legislation that would crack down on artificially high gas prices and strengthen oversight and accountability in the energy market.
But the government‘s commitment to ending abuse is not shared equally by our two political parties. Republicans like to blame President Joe Biden, but when we voted on this emergency legislation to help stop big oil companies from robbing us blind at the pumps, every Republican in the house voted no.
Let me repeat it because it’s so striking: Every Republican in Congress voted to keep gas prices inflated.
This winter, when we have to crank up the thermostat to stay warm, if utility companies try to raise our rates, our bill would allow the government to crack them down and put an end to greed. But Republicans have always said “no”.
Ruthlessly filibuster, Republican senators led by Mitch McConnell have been blocking the bill for 150 days now and counting.
Democrats also passed the historic Cut Inflation Act that will help reduce energy costs for families, reduce overall demand for fossil fuels and fight climate change. Our landmark law provides $9 billion in home energy rebate incentives to consumers and new tax credits for electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances.
Reports indicate that our new law will reduce energy costs by more than $1,000 and make America the number one energy supplier in the world.
With the latest unacceptable move by the Saudi-led OPEC cartel to subsidize Russia’s war in Ukraine, we don’t know how long the current surge at the pump will last.
Although the current average price of $3.63 is not five dollars, it is high and high should not be the acceptable standard. Whether it’s another day or another month or worse, Americans are tired of being rattled trying to fill their cars with billionaire corporations.
Congress needs to pass more relief legislation. It’s time to put the brakes on gas extraction once and for all.
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