Up until now, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been one of the few in the Senate who has refused to accept the idea that the war in Ukraine is reason to accept the increased prices foisted on Americans by the big oil companies.
“We can no longer allow big oil companies and the billionaire class to use the murderous Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing pandemic as an excuse to price gouge Americans and rake in record profits,” the senator declared this week.
Progressives in both the House and Senate are now joining him in a new push for a big oil profits windfall tax. The bill is seen as a definite way in which what amounts to war profiteering by the companies can be stopped. It would put a cap on gas prices and put money back into the pockets of consumers.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the bill this week, calling for a 50-percent tax on oil barons’ excess profits.
A unique feature of the bill is that funds raised from the tax would actually go back to consumers who have already been thoroughly ripped off by the oil companies. Working-class families would receive annual paybacks of up to $360.00. Revenues from the tax would go to working-class families with annual payments up to $360/yr.
Our Revolution, the progressive national organization that grew out of the Sanders campaigns for the presidency, has endorsed the bill and has begun a mass campaign to garner support for it. Readers can click on the link below to join the movement to pressure members of both the House and Senate to sign on in support of the bill.
Sign here to join us in demanding every member of Congress sign on to the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax!
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