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National
Key Vote
Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions, and Increasing Tax Incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies
Project Vote Smart's Synopsis:
Vote to invoke cloture on a bill that changes regulations and tax rates related to energy production, sale, and consumption.
NOTE: THIS IS A VOTE ON A MOTION TO INVOKE CLOTURE ON DISCUSSION OF WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE UP DEBATE ON THE BILL. IF THIS MOTION PASSES, THEN FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE TAKING UP OF THE BILL IS LIMITED TO 30 HOURS BEFORE THE BILL ITSELF IS TAKEN UP FOR DEBATE. INVOKING CLOTURE REQUIRES A THREE-FIFTHS MAJORITY OF THE SENATE. CLOTURE IS TYPICALLY USED TO END A FILIBUSTER.
Official Title of Legislation:
S 3044: A bill to provide energy price relief and hold oil companies and other entities accountable for their actions with regard to high energy prices, and for other purposes.
Highlights:
-Establishes a 25 percent tax on the "windfall profits" of major oil companies, defined as those oil companies that produce at least 500,000 barrels of oil per year and meet certain other criteria (Sec. 103).
-Defines "windfall profit" as the excess of the adjustable taxable income of a taxpayer for the taxable year that exceeds the "reasonably" inflated average profit for such taxable year (Sec. 103).
-Prohibits major oil companies from deducting the receipts from the production, refining, processing, transportation, or distribution of petroleum primary products from their taxable income (Sec. 101).
-Reduces the foreign tax credit for foreign oil or gas related income (Sec. 102).
-Allows oil companies to deduct investment in alternative energy production (including wind facilities, closed-loop and open-loop biomass facilities, geothermal or solar energy facilities, landfill gas facilities, small irrigation power facilities, trash combustion facilities, and qualified hydropower facilities) from the "windfall profits" tax (Sec. 103).
-Establishes the Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund with the revenue created by this bill, with the stated purpose of decreasing the United States' dependence on foreign and "unsustainable" energy sources and combating global warming (Sec. 104).
-Authorizes the president to declare a Federal energy emergency for a maximum initial period of 30 days in an area where there is a fuel supply shortage or price anomaly that affects the well-being of citizens (Sec. 204).
-Prohibits suppliers from selling fuel at an "unconscionably" excessive price in an area that the president has declared the subject of an energy emergency (Sec. 203).
-Suspends the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until December 31, 2008 (Sec. 301).
-Authorizes the Attorney General to take action against foreign states or agents thereof that attempt to collectively limit petroleum production, limit petroleum distribution, set the price of petroleum products, or restrain the trade of petroleum products (Sec. 401).
-Mandates that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission promulgate regulations to increase margin levels for crude oil trading to reduce oil speculation (Sec. 502).
Link to Legislation: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:s3044:
Senate Cloture Vote: 06/10/2008 : Cloture Not Invoked 51 - 43 (Record Vote Number 146)
NOTE: THIS IS A VOTE ON A MOTION TO INVOKE CLOTURE ON DISCUSSION OF WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE UP DEBATE ON THE BILL. IF THIS MOTION PASSES, THEN FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE TAKING UP OF THE BILL IS LIMITED TO 30 HOURS BEFORE THE BILL ITSELF IS TAKEN UP FOR DEBATE. INVOKING CLOTURE REQUIRES A THREE-FIFTHS MAJORITY OF THE SENATE. CLOTURE IS TYPICALLY USED TO END A FILIBUSTER.
Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry (D-NV)
Cosponsors: Sen. Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Sen. Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)
Sen. Cardin, Benjamin (D-MD)
Sen. Conrad, Kent (D-ND)
Sen. Dodd, Christopher (D-CT)
Sen. Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
Sen. Johnson, Tim (D-SD)
Sen. Kennedy, Edward Sr. (D-MA) (out of office)
| Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Sen. Kohl, Herbert (D-WI)
Sen. Lautenberg, Frank (D-NJ)
Sen. Leahy, Patrick (D-VT)
Sen. Levin, Carl (D-MI)
Sen. McCaskill, Claire (D-MO)
Sen. Mikulski, Barbara (D-MD)
Sen. Murray, Patty (D-WA)
| Sen. Reed, John (D-RI)
Sen. Sanders, Bernard (I-VT)
Sen. Schumer, Charles (D-NY)
Sen. Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
Sen. Webb, James Jr. (D-VA)
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)
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PVS provides summaries for each version of the bill selected as a key vote. The summary does not necessarily reflect the final version of the bill. For further status information, call the Voter's Research Hotline at 1-888-VOTE-SMART (1-888-868-3762).
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