PA. Gov. Rendell: Mr. President,Time right for windfall oil-profits tax

[DianaForRussFeingold]

:kick: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called upon President Bush to end "profiteering" by oil companies and to tap their record-breaking profits;Rendell: Time right for windfall oil-profits tax

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called upon President Bush to end "profiteering" by oil companies and to tap their record-breaking profits to provide relief to consumers.

"Consumers and businesses are trying to find ways to cope, but gasoline prices keep rising," Rendell said. "The president needs to act now. Oil companies should not be permitted to drain Americans' bank accounts to collect record-breaking profits."

In a letter to the president, Rendell urged Bush to work with Congress to establish a windfall oil-profits tax and direct the revenue gained through such a tax, as well as the billions of dollars in oil-royalty payments due to the federal government by oil companies, back to consumers and companies trying to make ends meet.

"Not only are gas prices spiking, across regions of my state it's getting harder to find gas," Rendell said in the letter to the president.

ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell and Valero reported combined profits of $112 billion last year. Since Bush took office, the companies have accumulated profits of $321 billion, the Governor's Office said. In January, ExxonMobil reported the largest annual profit in U.S. corporate history -- $36.1 billion -- which included a record-setting fourth quarter. Exxon earned $10.7 billion, or $116 million every 24 hours, in the final quarter of last year. That final quarter, in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, represented a 27 percent increase from the same period one year earlier, the Governor's Office said.

In Pennsylvania, gas prices have risen about 100 percent in three years, from $1.51 in 2003 to close to $3 per gallon at gas stations across the state currently. Gas prices increased 10 cents between April 12-17 and then jumped by more than 10 cents again last week, the Governor's Office reported.

"Skyrocketing gasoline prices spill over quickly into other markets and impact the price of every petroleum-based consumer good, diminishing consumers' spending power, raising the cost of food, services and countless other products, and straining household budgets," Rendell said.

In 1999, U.S. oil refiners made 22.8 cents for every gallon of gasoline refined from crude oil, which by 2004 had increased to 40.8 cents. Last year profit margins soared to 99 cents on each gallon sold, the Governor's Office said. :kick:http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2006/04/24/daily11.html?t=printable :applause:

[Sugarcoated]

1. I love Ed

Not to say his ideas aren't good/great for the gouging/energy situation, but he could sell a snow machine to an eskimo.