Keeping Promises

As part of her strive to keep campaign promises to the Kansas Second District, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda voted to strip oil industry of subsidies it receives from the federal government.

This comes on the same day Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified that he considered "a surge in oil prices and food prices ... worrisome."

Rep. Boyda was quoted in the Topeka Capitol Journal saying

"For years," Boyda said, "nobody in Washington had the guts to stand up to Big Oil. This bill says, 'Enough is enough.'"

The bill would create tax incentives for renewable energy by repealing tax subsidies for five large oil companies."

Further, Boyda said, "Renewable energy offers tremendous promise for our state's economy. Kansas has the soil to grow crops to be converted to biofuels, the skies to harvest wind energy, and the research base to nurture new technology. Now all we need is a national commitment to energy independence. That's what today's bill is all about. It should be called the ‘Kansas Economic Development Act’ – that's how important it is to our businesses and communities."

This arrives following a recent opening of a BioFuel gas station along Highway 59 in Lawrence.

According to Boyda,

The bill is fiscally responsible. It pays for these energy incentives by repealing unnecessary tax subsidies for the large five integrated oil companies. The big five oil companies recently reported record profits for 2007, with ExxonMobil earning $40.6 billion - the largest corporate profit in American history. That’s earnings of more than $111 million a day or $77 thousand dollars a minute! While oil company profits have quadrupled, high energy prices continue to squeeze American families – gas prices have skyrocketed and home heating oil has jumped along with other household costs.