Blog de Dunlap: Danielle, add your name if you support a Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil

Let's talk about why gas prices have gone up so high, Danielle.

Putin's horrific war on Ukraine has increased the price of oil around the world. But that's not the whole story.

When hugely profitable oil companies see their costs go up, they don't just raise their prices by that same amount — they raise them by a lot. Why? To take advantage of an international crisis to pad their already-massive profits — no matter how much harder they make it for their customers to make ends meet.

I've teamed up with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and a bunch more colleagues on a plan to fight back and deliver relief for Americans: a Windfall Profits Tax.

It would apply to the biggest oil companies, like ExxonMobil. If they're out there price gouging, they're going to have to give up a big chunk of their ill-gotten gains — with a 50% tax on the difference between the average price of a barrel from 2015 to 2019 and the price today.

And we'd use that revenue to send four rebate checks a year to Americans struggling with high gas prices.

Danielle, we've got to raise our voices to beat the fossil fuel lobby in Washington and get this done. Will you add your name to say you support our plan for a Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil?

At the same time we're working to address high gas prices, we've got to double-down, triple-down, and quadruple-down on transitioning to clean energy.

Russia's whole economy relies on exporting oil and gas. So here's the way I see it: the more we rely on fossil fuels as a nation, the more power we put in the hands of Putin.

For the survival of our planet — and for freedom, democracy, and security around the globe — we must move as fast as we possibly can away from fossil fuels and onto green energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower. That includes getting a whole lot more electric vehicles on the road and fueling our public transit with renewable energy. I'm in that fight all the way.

And even though Big Oil is getting a lot of headlines right now, I'm not letting other giant corporations off the hook for their role in squeezing working families. We see a lot of the same story in other parts of our economy, like food. When corporations see supply costs go up, they pass those costs onto consumers, but they sure don't stop there — they seize the opportunity to swell their profits even more by jacking up prices even higher. And it helps drive up the inflation we're already seeing from the pandemic and supply chain problems.

I'm going to keep fighting to bring costs down for families. But Washington needs to hear that the American people are demanding action. This is how we put our government on the side of families — not fossil fuel giants.

Danielle, add your name today to say you support a Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil and rebate checks for people struggling with gas prices. Let's fight side by side to get this bill over the finish line.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth

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