Wichita Eagle Logo

Aiming subsidies at certain energy sectors called unfair | The Wichita Eagle

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Eagle+ Sign In
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services
    • About Us

    • News
    • Crime & Courts
    • Local
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Lottery
    • Nation & World
    • Politics
    • Special Projects
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Finger on the Weather
    • Prairie Politics
    • Sports
    • Wichita State
    • Varsity Kansas
    • Chiefs
    • K-State
    • Kansas
    • Outdoors
    • Royals
    • State Colleges
    • Wingnuts
    • NBC baseball
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Bob Lutz
    • Jayhawk Dispatch
    • K-Stated
    • Lutz Blog
    • Michael Pearce
    • Shockwaves
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Health Care
    • Small Business
    • Forward Wichita
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Air Capital Insider
    • Business Casual
    • Business Perspectives
    • Carrie Rengers
    • Living
    • Celebrations
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Suzanne Tobias
    • Entertainment
    • The Arts
    • Books
    • Celebrities
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Restaurants
    • Events
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dining with Denise
    • Movie Maniac
    • Keeper of the Plans
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters
    • Opinion Columns
    • Submit a Letter
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Richard Crowson
    • Kirk Seminoff's Pivot Point
  • Obituaries

    • Classifieds
    • Auctions/Estate Sales
    • Garage Sales
    • Jobs
    • Legal Notices
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Service Directory
    • Place An Ad
    • Merchandise
    • Jobs
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Apartments
    • Other Categories
    • Classified Support Center
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

Aiming subsidies at certain energy sectors called unfair

David Goldstein

    ORDER REPRINT →

May 13, 2011 05:00 PM

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas wants Congress to just say no to all energy subsidies: wind, solar, ethanol, natural gas and, yes, oil, too.

If that sounds odd for a lawmaker who used to sell equipment to the oil and natural gas industries, and whose largest political benefactor — Koch Industries of Wichita, Kan. — is a huge international energy conglomerate, Pompeo agrees.

But he said the government shouldn't be "picking winners and losers" in the energy field by targeting special subsidies to one sector over another.

At a news conference Friday accompanied by another freshman Republican, Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, Pompeo said that Congress was "subsidizing particular energies trying to identify what the next great energy technology will be. I think it's both a fool's errand and bad policy when we do."

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Wichita Eagle

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Pompeo and Labrador said they weren't following the lead of President Barack Obama and other Democrats, who've called for repealing tax breaks for the top oil companies as they earn billions in profits and gasoline prices rise above $4 per gallon.

Pompeo said that some of the tax breaks the oil industry had, such as the domestic manufacturer's tax credit, weren't aimed specifically at the oil industry but were available to manufacturers across the board.

"I don't think it's fair ... to say the oil industry is making too much money, so let's take this away from them, but we're not going to take it away from anybody else," Labrador said.

The government spent more than $18 billion on energy industry subsidies in 2009, according to a letter Pompeo sent to colleagues in the House of Representatives this week, along with Labrador and another Republican backer, Rep. Tom McClintock of California, asking for their support.

The letter from the three asked for a "sense of the House of Representatives' " resolution in backing the elimination of all "grants, direct loans, loan guarantees and tax credits aimed at specific sectors of the energy industry."

But success could be difficult. What triggered their concern was a recent bill — which has 185 co-sponsors — to offer tax subsidies to the natural gas industry.

Brian Johnson, a senior adviser on tax policy for the American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry trade group, said that it supported the lawmakers' effort.

He said that while the industry didn't receive subsidies, it did get tax credits. With subsidies, he said, tax dollars go to a certain industry, but tax credits are deductions that enable the industry to keep more of its own money.

The Pompeo measure would undercut government efforts to promote "green" energy and technologies, such as wind.

"I'm all about jobs; I'm all about growth," Pompeo said. "I wish the wind guys well. I hope someone invents the greatest battery technology and all of these things work and costs come down and we get really cool energy. But we don't need to do it with federal taxpayers' subsidies."

Tyson Slocum, the director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy group, said that while he appreciated the "idealism" behind trying to eliminate energy subsidies, he found it shortsighted.

"There are massive embedded disadvantages against emerging technologies that have to compete against those fuels that have huge infrastructures already in place," he said. "The question shouldn't be, 'Let's get rid of all energy subsidies.' The question should be, 'Let's get rid of subsidies for mature technologies that have proved that they are profitable.' "

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Alaska Sen. Begich stands firm on oil industry subsidies

Ultra-efficient houses for the middle class, and no subsidies

Tax-cut bill includes big boost for liquid coal

Follow the latest politics news at McClatchy's Planet Washington

  Comments  

Videos

Maize runs past last year’s state runner-up, stays unbeaten

New substance abuse facility coming to Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center

View More Video

Trending Stories

Greenwich Place lands two more restaurants, including a new-to-Wichita steak house

February 15, 2019 05:00 AM

This man is helping K-State football with inspiring words ... and a sledgehammer

February 14, 2019 12:34 PM

Seafood, tacos and loco moco: Three awaited Wichita restaurants are ready to open

February 15, 2019 09:05 AM

Wichita’s west-side Cheddar’s restaurant now has an opening date — and lots of job openings

February 15, 2019 11:00 AM

K-State Q&A: Lavender uniforms, Big 12 honors and the return of confident Bruce Weber

February 15, 2019 11:53 AM

Read Next

Video shows alligator killing dog in Texas river; authorities investigate
Video media Created with Sketch.

Nation & World

Video shows alligator killing dog in Texas river; authorities investigate

By Kaley Johnson

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 16, 2019 07:28 AM

Game Wardens and sheriff’s department officials in Walker County are investigating a video posted to social media site Twitter that shows a dog being eaten by an alligator in the Trinity River near Riverside, TX.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Wichita Eagle

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Quick scout: Why the Vegas line for KU-West Virginia surprises me

University of Kansas

Quick scout: Why the Vegas line for KU-West Virginia surprises me

February 16, 2019 07:00 AM
Basketball recap: City League, AVCTL championships have been clinched + magic numbers

Varsity Basketball

Basketball recap: City League, AVCTL championships have been clinched + magic numbers

February 16, 2019 04:57 AM
Photos: Maize clinches league championship over last year’s state runner-up

Varsity Basketball

Photos: Maize clinches league championship over last year’s state runner-up

February 16, 2019 03:22 AM
Photos: McPherson, Circle meet in the girls basketball game of the night in the area

Varsity Basketball

Photos: McPherson, Circle meet in the girls basketball game of the night in the area

February 16, 2019 03:02 AM
League standings: Only four titles remain undecided in the Wichita area

Varsity Basketball

League standings: Only four titles remain undecided in the Wichita area

February 16, 2019 01:22 AM
‘Crazy chick’ didn’t want to sit next to a toddler on a plane. Then came the outburst.

Latest News

‘Crazy chick’ didn’t want to sit next to a toddler on a plane. Then came the outburst.

February 15, 2019 02:28 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Information
  • Digital Advertising
  • Rates
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story