Obama to urge Congress to give oil tax credits to ‘green energy’ companies

In his first public statements since returning from South Korea, President Barack Obama is scheduled to urge Congress to end “big oil” tax credits and give that money to “green energy” companies. Obama is expected to make the plea to lawmakers on Thursday morning in the Rose Garden at the White House as part of his effort to double down on his administration’s much-criticized investments into clean energy. This week, the Senate has been debating a bill sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, that would do exactly what Obama wants — end $21 billion in tax breaks over ten years to BP, Exxon, Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. About half of that money would be redirected to plug-in vehicles, biodiesel, wind energy and home weatherization. The rest would go toward deficit reduction. But critics claim the bill could raise gas prices as the oil companies are forced to make up for the lost money. Even two Democratic senators and a former Obama Treasury official agree that ending the tax incentives for the five big oil companies would do nothing to bring down gas prices. The president, who has proposed ending the tax breaks in his past three budgets, began pushing the idea again in mid-March as gas prices soared across the country...more