The Public Lands Team at ThinkProgress Green points out that the only pieces of Speaker Boehner’s highway bill the GOP-led House has passed are the special handouts to oil companies. Interestingly, the Center for Responsive Politics reported the oil and gas industry has given congressional Republicans $8,151,215 so far this cycle. That’s compared to $1,156,820 to Democrats.
House Passes Section Of Transportation Bill Consisting Only Of Earmarks To Big Oil
By Jessica Goad, Manager of Research and Outreach, Center for American Progress Action Fund.Last night the House of Representatives passed part of the behemoth transportation bill it is considering over the next month on a 237-187 vote. This section consisted solely of earmarks to Big Oil including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, opening Florida coasts to offshore drilling, a plan to develop oil shale (which isn’t even commercially viable), and building the Keystone XL pipeline. A Congressional Budget Office analysis shows that the drilling proposals together generate only approximately $2 billion, far less than the $50 billion funding gap needed for transportation projects over the coming years.
They also mentioned a certain watchdog project’s new web video.
The proposal to fund oil shale from Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) is a particularly nasty earmark. The Congressional Budget Office found the bill would generate no revenue over 10 years and in the short term would cost money to implement the leasing program. The Checks and Balance Project detailed this “boondoogle” in an online ad.
Read the full story at ThinkProgress Green.
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