Markey: Exxon's $41 Billion Reasons to End Tax Breaks, Pay for Infrastructure Jobs

Ending Old Oil Subsidies, Not Allowing New Oil Drilling, Should Pay for Transportation Shortfall

WASHINGTON (January 31, 2012) - 2011 was a very good year for Exxon Mobil, as the oil giant posted a $41 billion profit for the period. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), today cited these new profit numbers as yet another example of the misplaced priorities of House Republicans, and called for the repeal of oil company tax breaks instead of allowing new drilling off America's coasts and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to provide much-needed funding for infrastructure and transportation jobs.

"As if there weren't already enough reasons to end these tax breaks for oil companies, here are 41 billion more," said Rep. Markey, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee. "Opening up America's coasts, Florida's beaches and the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to drilling won't come close to funding needed infrastructure projects, but closing 100 year-old tax breaks and loopholes protected by oil industry lobbyists will."

Natural Resource Committee Republicans will consider three bills tomorrow to open up large swaths of America's coasts and the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to drilling, which they have touted as the "revenue portion" of the House Republican transportation reauthorization bill.

Ending tax breaks for the largest oil companies could contribute $43 billion over the next 10 years to transportation funding or deficit reduction. Natural Resources Democrats have also introduced legislation that would recover $19 billion in additional funds from oil, mining and other companies by reforming outdated laws that allow for free extraction of minerals, oil and other resources from public lands.

Meanwhile, even using the most optimistic projections, Republican drilling proposals as introduced would generate, at most, a little more than $5 billion over 10 years.

The current funding shortfall to just keep our bridges, roads, airports and other existing transportation elements running is $12 billion for the next two years, and more than $75 billion over the next six years.