Take Big Oil Off The Public Dole

Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance [1], sent the following to supporters today:

Tomorrow, the new House leaders will take on our Big Oil energy policy. They will take a long overdue first step toward real, sustainable energy independence.

And the best part: it won't cost us a dime. Instead, the House plans to pay for it by reversing the $14 billion handout that previous Congresses lavished on Big Oil.

But taking on Big Oil won't be easy. We need a massive vote in the House tomorrow to gain momentum going into the Senate. For that we need your help.

Act now. Contact your representative before tomorrow's vote and urge him or her to pass the CLEAN Energy Act [2], to take back the $14 billion giveaway to Big Oil and invest it in renewable power.

That's right. The previous conservative Congress of Tom DeLay decided that we weren't gouged at the pump enough and that Big Oil's record profits were insufficient. So, they took $14 billion of our money and funneled it to their political patrons in the oil and gas industry.

But here comes change: tomorrow's legislation will take back the Big Oil handouts and invest it in a brand new renewable energy fund.

What can $14 billion potentially do? Power 4.2 million homes with wind energy. Create 29,000 jobs in the solar industry. Or fund incentives to help 5.6 million Americans purchase hybrid cars.

We need your voice to rise above theirs. Contact your representative today -- before tomorrow's vote -- and urge him or her to pass the CLEAN Energy Act [2], and put Big Oil's ill-gotten gains into a clean energy future.

The CLEAN Energy Act is only a down payment on complete energy independence. We have much more work to do to realize the full vision of our Apollo Alliance program, which would create three million clean energy jobs and kick the oil habit for good.

Also, over at TomPaine.com, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope offers [3] his list of next steps once CLEAN Energy Act becomes law:

Beginning this past October, consumers buying some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road only received half the original tax credit due to an arbitrary cap. Come April 1, consumers will only receive a quarter of the original tax credit for some vehicles and they will receive none at all after September 1. Even President Bush has said he supports removing the arbitrary cap...

Increasing incentives for green buildings ... will encourage the construction of the most energy efficient buildings possible. This will reduce energy consumption—obviating the need for new, costly and potentially dirty power plants—reduce emissions, and save businesses money on their energy bills.

[And t]he renewable energy production tax credit has already begun to work but is set to expire this year. Congress should extend it to make sure the momentum to convert to renewable energy like wind and solar power isn’t lost.