President Biden’s Budget Will Hold Big Oil Accountable for Profiteering Off Working Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to President Biden’s budget proposal, which includes cutting fossil fuel subsidies and greater investments in climate and clean energy, Climate Power’s Deputy Executive Director Claire Moser released the following statement: 

“For far too long, working families and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis have felt the excruciating pain of Big Oil getting richer while they are struggling to survive. This endless cycle of Oil CEOs and Wall Street executives making record profits while Americans suffer must stop. It’s time we hold Big Oil accountable for profiteering off the backs of working families. President Biden’s budget proposal does exactly that—all while building on Biden’s Made in America clean energy plan, creating good-paying jobs, lowering costs for families, and funding much needed climate resilience programs.” 

Big Oil’s greed last year reached new heights, thanks to price gouging at the pump and profiteering off the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just last year alone, oil and gas profits reached an all-time record high, to the tune of $400 billion. Instead of lowering costs to help working families, Big Oil CEOs rewarded their shareholders with over $200 billion in stock buybacks and dividends. 

For nearly a century, American taxpayers have been subsidizing Big Oil’s profiteering. According to studies on how oil companies utilize taxpayer money, when oil prices are high, nearly 96% of subsidies go to shareholder profits. Biden’s budget proposal is a critical first step in ensuring that Big Oil CEOs don’t waste taxpayer money. 

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