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Senate rejects Obama call to end Big Oil tax breaks

30 March 2012 07:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Republicans in the Senate blocked legislation on Thursday to strip billions of dollars in tax breaks for the biggest U.S. oil companies, calling the bill a political stunt that would not help tamp down surging gasoline prices, APA reports citing Reuters.

President Barack Obama, under pressure as the pinch of higher gasoline prices becomes a hot issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, had urged Congress to end the breaks, worth about $24 billion over 10 years, noting oil companies were raking in record profits.

"They can stand with big oil companies, or they can stand with the American people," Obama said at an event in the White House Rose Garden just ahead of the Senate vote.

"It’s not like these are companies that can’t stand on their own," Obama said.

The Senate bill needed 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle, but as widely predicted, it failed on a vote of 51-47, mainly along party lines.

As Obama campaigns for re-election, Republicans are attacking the White House over the rising cost of gasoline, a particularly sensitive issue for car-loving Americans. Prices have jumped about $0.30 in the past month to an average of $3.92 per gallon, a record high for March.