Oil firms’ tax breaks survive bid

WASHINGTON — An attempt to roll back oil-company tax breaks was blocked in the Senate, despite a Rose Garden push by President Barack Obama, who said five oil companies are doing “just fine” as consumers struggle with painfully high gas prices at the pump.

Republicans led opposition to the measure, but several Democrats from oil-rich states joined Republicans in a filibuster to prevent the legislation from advancing. The vote was 51-47, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold.

Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas supported advancing the bill, while the state’s other senator, Republican John Boozman, was opposed.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said the Republican Party was “poised to pick the pockets of American taxpayers to line the pockets of these oil executives.”

But the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, ridiculed the Democrats’ energy policy as doing little to ease the pain at the pump.

“Their brilliant plan on how to deal with gas prices: Raise taxes on energy companies,” the Republican leader said.

Both parties have sought to deflect voter anger at steep pump prices, with Democrats pointing to oil-company profits as evidence that the federal government no longer needs to subsidize the industry.

Republicans argued that subsidies for the five oil companies are needed for continued oil-drilling development. They said the measure unfairly targets the industry.

Obama stepped into the fray Thursday in a White House address from the Rose Garden before the morning vote.

“Right now, the biggest oil companies are raking in record profits,” Obama said. “On top of these record profits, oil companies are also getting billions a year in taxpayer subsidies.”

The president noted that domestic oil drilling is at highs not seen in the past eight years, and the nation is importing less from foreign sources.

But the president faced detractors from within his own party who have long been hesitant to halt subsidies for the oil companies. Four Democrats joined Republicans in blocking the measure from advancing: Mark Begich of Alaska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Jim Webb of Virginia.

Two Republicans — Maine’s Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins — joined Democrats in trying to advance the bill.

The legislation would end more than $2 billion in annual tax subsidies to the five oil companies: BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell and ConocoPhillips.

Information for this article was contributed by Jim Snyder and Roger Runningen of Bloomberg News.