Reid: GOP siding with Big Oil rather than taxpayers

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) excoriated his GOP colleagues on Tuesday, saying that by opposing the pending bill to raise taxes to the tune of $24 billion on large domestic oil producers, they were taking the side of Big Oil over taxpayers.

"Senate Republicans will never side with American taxpayers against Big Oil," said Reid. "It’s against their nature."

Republicans surprised Democrats on Monday by voting to bring the legislation, authored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), to the Senate floor.

With gas prices rising, Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) urged his caucus to bring the bill to the floor in order to argue in debate that the $24 billion tax hike suggested in the bill would only be passed on to consumers, driving prices at the pump even higher. Republicans are expected to vote to kill the legislation later this week. 

Reid on Tuesday said the American people shouldn't be "fooled by last night’s bipartisan vote" because Republicans had already proven with rhetoric that they oppose the legislation to "roll back billions in handouts to oil companies making record profits."