Senator Wyden holding up Senate in attempt to repeal oil subsidies

[kentuck]

The Republican majority does not wish to have a vote at this time. Wyden refuses to give up the floor until he can get a commitment, otherwise he would lose the floor. Wyden is arguing that the billions of dollars of tax-subsidies for the oil companies should be repealed. More or less, he's saying it is obscene and a disgrace to give these oil companies these tax breaks with the price of oil over $70 dollars a barrel. An argument over procedure is going on...

[ClassWarrior]

1. Go Ron!

NGU.

[blm]

2. Good job, Wyden.

This is the bill we posted about the other day that Kerry was sponsoring, and Wyden is standing up for it - THANKYOU!!!

Kerry Introduces Bill to Repeal Wasteful Tax Giveaways for Oil Companies at Time of Record, Windfall Profits
April 25th, 2006 @ 12:20 pm

In response to Bush’s speech today on rising gas prices and his plan which analysts are already saying will not help, John Kerry will introduce a bill to repeal wasteful tax giveaways for oil companies at time of record, as oil companies see windfall profits.

Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry:

“For a moment, President Bush finally stopped talking like an oil company executive. Farmers, commuters and American families struggling with record gas prices need help more than oil interests which are giving their CEOs $400 million golden parachutes. I will introduce legislation today to repeal the president’s earlier tax giveaways for oil companies. The top oil executives told Congress they don’t need these tax breaks, and I hope the president was sincere today and will work aggressively to get this passed.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2763


BTW - Kerry's not around - he has a serious illness in the family, but no one knows any details at this point.

[Blaze Diem]

3. Doing his job for the people who put him in DC.

Who else will step up on his behalf? Can they filibuster this thing?
I have to go turn the TV on..

[joanski0]

4. Sen. Bill Nelson helping now.

Says something is out of whack! Exxon has profit of $9 billion in three months.

[Blaze Diem]

10. There's plenty of dirt to tell in regards to OIL Co's profiteering..

There should be an endless barrage of storeys to tell today..plenty of reasons to repeal the tax and restore some decency and dignity to "we the people".
Everyone knows what the oil co's are doing..and why they are getting away with it. (Bush)..
They need to be called out on this disgraceful behavior..Its about time..

This should be spoken non-stop...It is the strongest campaign slogan ever....because it is obvious to every American.

[blondeatlast]

5. YES! Our voices can be heard occasionally in DC!

Thank you, Senator Wyden.

Links to contact him, anyone?

[oregonjen]

13. Yes, phone# for DC 1-202-224-5244 email address...

email http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/

I called and thanked him! :)

[blondeatlast]

6. Please keep us cube rats informed, thanks, DU! nt

[kentuck]

7. Dumb-ass Ted Stevens wants to compare this tax give-away to ANWR

oil reserves??? What a dumbass!

[TayTay]

8. He wants to poison-pill the amendment by hangingANWR off of it

Now it is a big pissing contest. Wyden wants that bill to take away the $15 billion in tax cuts for Big Oil. So Stevens now wants to hang a vote to allow drilling in ANWR off of Wyden's bill.

[kentuck]

9. Yep...

Wyden needs some assistance with these wolves that are attacking him..

[joanski0]

11. Ted Stevens got in the act now.

He says he's been waiting 25 years for a vote on ANWAR. Wants to add the ANWAR drilling as a second degree amendment to Ron Wyden's amendment.

Now Wyden wants to modify his amendment. Stevens objects because he wants to add his ANWAR.

Wyden withdrew his unanimous request for a vote because of Stevens request, so Wyden is persisting on keeping the Floor.

[joanski0]

14. No Republicans will come out and say

that they don't want Wyden's amendment; they just want to block it from getting a vote. Pigs!

[kentuck]

15. Someone should point out that Stevens has blocked the repeal ...

of this robbery of the taxpayers of this country by the Big Oil companies by his attempt to add ANWR to the amendment. Stevens is standing up for Big Oil once again and voting against the average American.

[realFedUp]

12. This is absolutely the first action that should be taken....

people don't think these companies should be
getting government welfare.

[napi21]

16. It was Ron, during the hearings with the oil CEO's who asked each

one if they had utilized or even needed the Fed. subsidies, and would they object if they were just eliminated? Those who answered said they didn't utilize them and it wouldn't matter if they werre eliminated. To those who didn't answer, Ron said "Since I've heard NO objections to the elimination of the subsidies, I'm going to assume I should just do it!"

I'm glad to see he's following up on his promise!!!!

[blondeatlast]

17. Thanks for the GREAT updates.

I've got to be out for a while so I really appreciate hearing from you all.

[joanski0]

18. Wyden says he'd like some Senator to come

to the Floor and say why this subsidy is needed. Hah! No takers.

[TayTay]

19. They just want to kill this with procedural maneuvers.

It's pathetic. Kudos to Sen. Wyden for this move. I have a feeling he will have to withdraw it, because of the ANWR 2nd degree amendment that Stevens wants, but this was a good move.

Sigh!

[kentuck]

20. The Democrats should use this time to educate the people...

and score a few political points if that is the game Stevens and the Repubs want to play. Yeah, we can play that game. I wish another Democrat would help him out here...

[TayTay]

21. The biggest anti-ANWR Dems are:

Anyone have a list? Cantwell had her name on the last amendment to strip this out of a prior spending bill. Kerry has sent out email on it. (He was absent from the Senate yesterday due to an illness in the family.)

Who else champions this?

[katinmn]

22. Boxer is one

[katinmn]

23. Cantwell is another

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=253328&&days=30&

[TayTay]

24. Damn. What a sleazy move on Stevens part

Sounds like a Rethug. Load a bill up with as much crap as possible in order to make the Dems drop it or vote against it. Bastards.

[nickshepDEM]

25. But, But... He's DLC.

:shrug:

[Placebo]

28. UGH, then what he is doing is worthless and helping us LOSE!

:sarcasm: :P

[nickshepDEM]

37. Primary his ass!

:)

[kentuck]

26. Reid just requested Wyden Amendment be put last on the list...

with no secondary amendments... Republicans object.

[SnoopDog]

27. Senator Wyden is just awesome today...

He is really standing up for us right now...

[joanski0]

29. Sen. Wyden says: The outrageouse abuse

of taxpayer money seems to be the priority around here.

Senator Durbin helping Wyden now. Oil companies want it both ways.

[Placebo]

30. Also, in a time of RECORD PROFITS.

Wyden is correct when he says it's absurd to be giving these royalties to companies when oil it above $55 a barrel and they're all reporting record profits in the billions of dollars.

[joanski0]

31. Sen. Wyden says it is now clear that those

who oppose this amendment will NOT allow a vote on it.

I think he's about to give up the floor. He said he could talk until he fell over, but he still couldn't get a vote.

[joanski0]

32. Dominici says he wants the floor after

Wyden withdraws his amendment. Wyden says he has no intention of withdrawing his amendment. He may give up the floor, but won't withdraw the amendment.

Dominici says you've had plenty of time here. We have rights too, you know, says the red-faced pig.

Dominici says Wyden's amendment is meaningless. It's nothing. It's not a progam. It will yield zero dollars. Why should we let you have a vote on that. Dominici asks for the right to add a second-degree amendment. Wyden objects. Dominici leaves the floor.

Wyden wants to know why if the amendment is so meaningless and useless, that it didn't have a vote at 10:15 a.m. and dispose of it. Wyden says, let's go to a vote if this amendment is so meaningless.
I guess this program just happened by osmosis. The American people are going to remember this day.

[joanski0]

33. Here's Harry Reid. I think you've

established that you will not get a vote on this amendment. Many disappointed Americans.

Does the Senator have any idea how much longer he will be talking.

I would stay here all night, until they literally had to take me off the floor because I couldn't talk any longer to save the taxpayer's money. I would stay here as look as it took if I thought the other side would let me have an up or down vote. The Senate is not going to operate the way it customarily does ... I want to protect the middle-class taxpayer ... it's clear that they aren't going to allow a vote.

Reid wants Wyden to wrap up in 3 minutes, and then go into a quorum call, and then Senator Cochrane have the floor.

Wyden says ... I wish that today we could have done right by all those middle-class folks. I'm going to be back making this fight again and again, the people of Oregon willing. I do not withdraw my amendment, but I yield the floor at this time.

Quorum call.

[abburdlen]

34. There are many a day

when I understand why so many Americans have such a low opinion of everyone in Congress. There are times when it seems hard tell a difference between the politicians on one side of the aisle from the other. The call to kick them all out of office and start all over sounds like a good idea every now and then but today was something different.

The GOP mantra of "up or down vote" was conspicuously absent when it came time to take a stand on such a straight forward idea of making the profit-rich oil companies pay their fair share for the resources they're taking from our lands. Of course no republican would stand up and say there were for giving away billions of dollars to the oil companies while we're taking a beating at the pump. Instead the cowardly republicans let Wyden's amendment slip through the procedural cracks in the Senate likely never to be voted on.

This was a day to point to when you hear people complain that there isn't a difference between Democrats and Republicans.

[joanski0]

35. Here comes John Warner again wanting

to retire the aircraft carrier "USS John F. Kennedy". Shit on him. The carrier should be turned into a museum.

[joanski0]

36. Warner says it's costing the taxpayers

$20 million per month to keep this ship. He wants the amendment to be called up for consideration. YAY! Patty Murray objected. Kent Conrad up now. Amendment to pay for the war costs. War costs should have been budgeted and paid for. Instead, it's just been put on the credit card. Getting out his good ole charts. I love that man.