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Congressional Democrats pounced on the record-shattering profits of Exxon Mobil on Thursday, seeking to shift the debate on energy after being on the defensive for weeks. “It’s the most selfish group of companies that I’ve ever seen — and the most hypocritical,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). For weeks, Democrats have been playing defense by opposing lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling even as public sentiment has shifted in favor of allowing companies to explore for oil off the coast. But with Thursday’s announcement of record-breaking profits, Democrats hope to take the message home over August that the oil companies have raked in money even as they sit on 68 million acres of land leases they do not use. Exxon Mobil reported an $11.7 billion second-quarter profit, the largest quarterly profit ever for a U.S. corporation. Royal Dutch Shell announced an $11.6 billion quarterly profit. ConocoPhillips reported last week that its second-quarter profits rose 13 percent, while Chevron makes it announcement Friday. Democrats criticized Exxon Mobil for spending $89.5 billion in stock buybacks over 2005-2007, and just $2.9 billion in research and development during the same time. They sent a letter Thursday calling on the oil company executives to invest their profits in alternative sources of energy. Emanuel stated that American taxpayers are “shelling out billions for handouts to big oil companies and then paying record prices at the pump,” while Schumer accused the GOP of being “totally in the hands of Big Oil.” Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), questioned the Democrats’ basis for charging that Republicans are protecting Big Oil, pointing to statements made by a number of prominent Democrats calling for expanded drilling. The GOP says Democrats are putting up a smokescreen since a majority of Americans support expanded offshore drilling to boost domestic supplies, and argue that Democrats are trying to duck a vote on the issue. With Americans alarmed by $4-a-gallon gasoline, the GOP says it is willing to do whatever it takes to reduce prices. Democrats have been sensitive to that argument. The debate over profits also spilled over into the presidential race. “Perhaps the only thing more outrageous than Exxon Mobil making record profits while Americans are paying record prices at the pump is the fact that Sen. McCain has proposed giving them an additional $1.2 billion tax break,” Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) said in a statement. |
