BREAKING: As Senate Moves on Clean Energy Legislation, Exxon & Chevron Q2 Earnings Show Unprecedented Profiteering, Placing Target on NV GOP Allies

Today, in important context for the politics at play around the Inflation Reduction Act, ExxonMobil and Chevron reported a Q2 profit margin higher than any in their history – a 273% and 247% increase in profits, respectively, over the same period last year. The profits, which totaled $17.5 billion and $11.4 billion, were collected at a time when American families were paying skyrocketing gas and energy prices.

The new earnings report comes as the Senate is on the verge of passing a cost-saving plan that ramps up the production of American-made clean energy, lowers energy bills, and takes on climate change. It shows without a shadow of a doubt that Wisconsinites struggled under the crushing weight of historic gas prices thanks to price gouging oil companies: 

• Exxon gouged consumers at the pump and shoveled the money to their wealthy shareholders. In Q2 alone, Exxon paid out $6 billion in stock buybacks and $7.5 billion in dividends, for a total of almost $13.5 billion on rewarding shareholders.
  • Meanwhile, Exxon spent $3.7 million lobbying Congress thus far this year to help ensure they can continue to reap massive profits from consumers. 
• Chevron gouged consumers at the pump and shoveled the money to their wealthy shareholders. In Q2 alone, Chevron paid out $2.8 billion in stock buybacks and $2.5 billion in dividends, for a total of $5.3 billion on rewarding shareholders.
  • Meanwhile, Chevron spent $4 million lobbying Congress thus far this year to help ensure they can continue to reap massive profits from consumers. 

This profiteering is a major problem for Republicans, who have spent months attempting to pin the blame for high energy prices on Joe Biden while acting as mouthpieces for the fossil fuel industry. 

As you see Republicans object to the historic legislation moving through the Senate, remember that in the 2022 electoral cycle alone, the oil and gas industry gave more than $13.2 million to federal Republican candidates, which represents 77% of their giving. Now that bill is coming due.

One of the biggest recipients of Big Oil’s greed is Senator Ron Johnson, who has received more than $165,000 in campaign contributions from the industry since 2017. Johnson, despite claiming he’s not a climate denier, is a notorious mouthpiece for Big Oil — just last year, he was caught on tape calling climate change ‘bulls—.’

Even as the climate crisis intensifies in Wisconsin and energy prices soar, Johnson, like many of his fellow Republicans, has not offered any meaningful solutions to stop the price-gouging or lower costs for Wisconsin families. This could be a major misstep as key elections in Wisconsin ramp up – recent polling shows strong support for clean energy, and a majority of voters blaming high energy prices on price gouging by fossil fuel companies. The majority of Wisconsin voters view climate change as a problem and they want leaders who will act.

It’s time to hold these fossil fuel-bought Republicans accountable for doing nothing to protect consumers or lower costs for families.