There are things to rejoice after yesterday’s vote, namely that a majority of Senators did vote to end corporate welfare for oil companies. The final vote stood at 52-48. Unfortunately, 52 votes weren’t enough to pass the filibuster.
No reasonable Senator could argue that Big Oil, with their record-breaking profits in the tens of billions, needs our taxpayer support to keep drilling for and burning fossil fuels. As Bill McKibbon said at a rally in DC moments before the Senate vote, “We’ve known how to burn it for 200 years. The only explanation is that Big Oil gives our elected leaders big presents, and we are stuck with the bill.”
How big were those presents? The 48 Senators voting on behalf of Big Oil received on average $370, 664 in campaign contributions while in Congress. Wow.
The 52 Senators who stood strong with the American people? They averaged just $72,145.
But BIG presents come with BIG strings, and the US Chamber was out and about warning lawmakers this week that they would be paying close attention to whether Senators stood strong for Big Oil. Their lobbyist, Bruce Josten, sent out a letter to your elected leaders that could easily be summarized as “we’re watching you.” When you make an investment like that, you make sure to cash in.
And cash in they did- as was clear from the final vote count.
But something else happened over the last week, something exciting:
Rally at the US Capitol to End Oil Subsidies, ©Kip Pierson Photography www.kippierson.com
Over 464,255 Americans took action and contacted Congress to demand an end to subsidies for Big Oil, and hundreds rallied on Capitol Hill just last night to deliver that message. That 464, 255 includes nearly 20,000 of you from the 350.org community.
That huge response was no doubt responsible for the 52 Senators who stood with us Wednesday night in condemning massive handouts to Big Oil.
At the end of the day, this is a fight for who our elected leaders actually represent, the people or polluting corporations. We at 350.org clearly aren’t giving up this fight lightly. If you didn’t join us in this last action, sign on and declare that the US Chamber Doesn’t Speak for Me in their actions for continuing oil subsidies.
When you’re done, check out our Moving Planet site, and start an event in your neighborhood using alternative transportation to take a stand against polluting corporations that are trying to buy our Democracy.
