Send your representative a personalized holiday card wishing them a happy new year and asking for a new energy future! The card already has your representative's name and address included — all you have to do is print it and send it off!

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Background

Oil Company Profits Continue to Skyrocket

Big oil companies are swimming in a sea of record-breaking profits while American consumers and taxpayers pay the price. In 2005, the world's biggest oil companies reported a combined $111 billion in profits. In the first three quarters of 2006 they reported more than $94 billion.

Some of the biggest oil company profits in 2005 were:
* ExxonMobil:  $36.1 billion
* Royal Dutch Shell: $25.3 billion
* BP: $22.3 billion
* ConocoPhillips: $13.5 billion
* Chevron Texaco $14.1 billion

Federal Handouts Lavish Billions on Oil and Gas Companies

Despite earning record profits, oil and gas companies continue to benefit from billions in handouts courtesy of American taxpayers. Between tax incentives, below-market fees for drilling on public lands, research and development subsidies and accounting gimmicks, these companies will receive more than $31.6 billion from the federal government over the next five years.

Specifically, these handouts break down as follows:
* Tax breaks: $16 billion
* Research and development subsidies: $1.8 billion
* Below-market fees for drilling on public lands: $9.5 billion
* Accounting gimmicks: $4.3 billion
* Total: $31.6 billion

Some of most outrageous handouts to Big Oil include a deduction allowing oil and gas companies to write off taxes and fees paid to foreign governments.  This giveaway is not only a boon for Big Oil, but also for the governments of the world's major oil-producing nations, many of which are openly hostile to American interests.  According to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation, modifying the deduction would save taxpayers $325 million over the next five years.

Another costly and unfair handout allows companies drilling for oil and natural gas in publicly-owned waters and on publicly-owned lands to pay below-market fees, or royalties, for the resources they extract.  These royalty payments provide needed resources to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Historic Preservation Trust Fund, the oil-producing states and the federal treasury. Schemes that let oil companies off the hook for their royalty obligations will cost taxpayers at least $9.5 billion over the next five years.

Congress is pumping more than $1.8 billion into federal research and development, including one provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to give $1.5 billion to an oil consortium in Representative Tom DeLay's home district of Sugarland, TX.

Representative Nancy Pelosi has stated that one of her top priorities when Congress convenes in January will be to repeal the most outrageous handouts to Big Oil and invest that money in clean, renewable energy.

Send your representative a personalized holiday card wishing them a happy new year and asking for a new energy future! To create your New Energy Future holiday card, click on the link below or copy and paste it into your web browser. Then, ask your friends and family to get involved by forwarding this message to them.

http://static.environmentiowa.org/eia.asp?id=2070&id4=ES

Sincerely,