LT. GOVERNOR PATTY JUDGE: MCCAIN'S ENERGY PLAN PUTS BIG OIL AHEAD OF IOWA FAMILIES

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Des Moines, IA – On the eve of Sen. John McCain's visit to Iowa, Lt. Governor Patty Judge joined the Iowa Democratic Party for a press conference at the Auto-Lab gas station in Des Moines to discuss Sen. John McCain's energy plan.

"It's time for a little straight talk on John McCain's energy policy," said Lt. Governor Patty Judge. "For years, while the farmers of Iowa were working tirelessly to help solve our energy challenges, Sen. McCain was a vocal opponent of ethanol. He is committed to continuing Bush policies that favor oil companies, instead of helping families with gas prices and making real investments in renewable energy. It’s time for a real renewable energy leader in Washington. It's time for Sen. Barack Obama."

Sen. McCain's energy plan does not make significant investments in alternative energy. During his time in Congress, Sen. McCain has repeatedly voted against renewable fuel and ethanol mandates. Instead of offering solutions, Sen. McCain is offering a gas tax gimmick that will pad oil company profits and save Iowans—at most—a quarter and a nickel a day over the course of an entire summer.

And instead of offering a comprehensive plan that will lower gas prices, Sen. McCain's plan boils down to drilling, which will have an "insignificant" impact on gas prices, even when it's at full capacity, according to President Bush's Department of Energy.

Sen. Obama's comprehensive energy plan will help Americans cope with the energy crisis in the short term, and make the long-term investments we need to break our addiction to oil.

"Sen. Obama's plan provides immediate relief, invests in a clean energy future, and brings us closer to energy independence," said Lt. Governor Judge. "Sen. McCain's plan continues Bush's failed policies."

###

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY DONORS REWARD MCCAIN

McCain Has Raised More Than $2.1 Million From The Oil And Gas Industry. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, John McCain received $1,039,768 in contributions from the oil and gas industry between January 2007 and May 2008 - a figure which dwarfs any other presidential candidates' oil industry money. In addition, the Washington Post reported that "campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain rose dramatically in the last half of June, after the senator from Arizona made a high-profile split with environmentalists and reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling." According to the Post's analysis, oil and gas industry executives and employees contributed $1.1 million to McCain and the Republican National Committee's Victory Fund in June - three-quarters of which were donated after McCain's June 16th announcement that he supported ending the moratorium on offshore drilling. These contributions, when combined with the $1.03 million raised by McCain prior to the month of June, indicated that he has raised more than $2.1 million from the oil and gas industry. [Center for Responsive Politics website, "Selected Industry Totals to Candidates," accessed 7/31/08; Washington Post, 7/27/08; "Oil Flow," WashingtonPost.com graphic, accessed 8/3/08]

MCCAIN REFUSES TO CRACK DOWN ON PROFITS MADE BY OIL COMPANIES

McCain's Tax Plan Would Save Largest American Oil Companies Nearly $4 Billion. According to the Center For American Progress, "The centerpiece of Sen. McCain's plan to stimulate the economy -- actually, the whole plan -- is large tax cuts for corporations. It would deliver $3.8 billion in tax cuts to the five largest American oil companies, according to an analysis released today by the Center for American Progress Action Fund." [Work Room, Thinkprogress.org, 3/27/2008]

MCCAIN OPPOSES WINDFALL PROFITS TAX TO HELP AMERICAN FAMILIES

McCain Voted Against Imposing A 50 Percent Excise Tax On Oil Company Windfall Profits. John McCain voted against an amendment to the 2005 Energy Policy Act to impose a 50 percent excise tax on windfall profits earned by major integrated U.S. oil companies on sale or constructive sale of taxable crude oil derived from existing wells during tax year. The amendment defined "windfall profits" as amount that a barrel of taxable crude oil sold or constructively sold exceeds $40 per barrel, adjusted annually for inflation and also provided for a reduction in the tax for exploration and development costs, investments in certain renewable facilities, and increases in domestic refinery capacity. Funds collected from the tax would have been returned to taxpayers in the form of rebates. [2005 Senate Vote #331, 11/17/05; Houston Chronicle, 11/17/05; Las Vegas Review-Journal, 11/18/05; Environment and Energy Daily¸ 11/18/05]

McCain Criticized Obama's Call For A Windfall Profits Tax. As the Associated Press reported, "Republican Sen. John McCain criticized Sen. Barack Obama's call for a windfall profits tax on the oil industry on Tuesday, despite leaving the door open to the same idea last month. … McCain criticized Obama, his Democratic rival, repeatedly in excerpts of a speech planned for delivery Tuesday evening. He cited Obama's advocacy of a tax on excess oil industry profits as well as the Democrat's vote for President Bush's energy legislation in 2005. McCain reserved his sharpest words for the windfall profits tax. 'If that plan sounds familiar, it's because that was President Carter's big idea, too. ... I'm all for recycling, but it's better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s,' McCain said in the excerpts." [Associated Press, 6/17/08]

MCCAIN'S TAX PLAN: $4 BILLION FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY WHILE AMERICANS PAY $4 PER GALLON AT THE PUMP

McCain's Tax Plan Will Cut Taxes For Oil Companies by Nearly $4 Billion. A study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund noted that the corporate tax rate cut included in the McCain tax plan would deliver a $3.8 billion tax cut to the five largest American oil companies. ["The McCain Plan to Cut Oil Company Taxes by Nearly $4 Billion," Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/27/08]

MCCAIN HAS ALSO REFUSED TO REQUIRE OIL COMPANIES TO INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

McCain Said He Would Not Require Oil Companies To Use Their Profits To "Pursue Alternative Energy." When asked in a republican primary debate if he would "require the oil industry to use its profits to help pursue alternative energy" McCain responded, "I would not require them to. But I think that public pressure and a lot of other things, including a national security requirement that we reduce and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil -- and we stop the contamination of our atmosphere, which is -- and climate change, which is real and is taking place." [GOP Primary Debate, 10/9/07]

###