BREAKING: HESS’ Q2 EARNINGS SHOW UNPRECEDENTED PROFITEERING WHILE AMERICANS SUFFER
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Today, Hess reported a Q2 profit margin higher than any in its history – reporting an 800% increase in profits over the same period last year. The profits, which totaled $667 million, were collected at a time when American families were paying skyrocketing gas and energy prices.
The new earnings report shows without a shadow of a doubt that Americans struggled under the crushing weight of historic gas prices thanks to price gouging oil companies:
- Hess gouged consumers at the pump and shoveled the money to their wealthy shareholders. In Q2 alone, Hess paid out $190 million in stock buybacks and $116 million in dividends.
- Meanwhile, Hess spent $480,000 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 being mouthpieces for the fossil fuel industry. 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.
Meanwhile, not a single Republican has offered any meaningful solutions to stop the price-gouging or lower costs for American families. The American people have noticed. Recent polling shows strong support for clean energy and a majority of voters blaming high energy prices on price gouging by fossil fuel companies.
It’s time to hold these fossil fuel-bought Republicans accountable for doing nothing to protect consumers or lower costs for families.