Originally issued as a CGS press release on April 17, 2007.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Maurice Hinchey, (D-NY), introduced legislation today that would end subsidies to oil companies as part of U.S. foreign assistance initiatives.
Following is a statement from Scott T. Paul, Deputy Director of Government Relations at Citizens for Global Solutions:
“Congressman Hinchey should be commended for his leadership with the introduction of this important piece of legislation.
“Our nation needs to keep its promise to poor people around the world. We can play a powerful role in helping people lift themselves out of poverty and building a new, global energy future. Yet, one misguided policy undermines these noble efforts: tax dollars that Congress set aside to help the world’s poor are instead going to support the oil industry.
“Taxpayer support for oil aid is a slap in the face to the world’s poor people. Along with other industrialized countries, we have made a solemn commitment to do our part to fight global poverty. Every year, we set aside money to meet this commitment, but we’re giving oil companies a larger and larger piece of this pie. These accounts should be used as they were intended: to free people around the world from the shackles of poverty – not as a slush fund for oil companies.
“In 2005, President Bush proclaimed ‘America is addicted to oil.’ We can’t end this addiction by continuing to feed it. The world’s reliance on oil – a single, dirty source of energy – is causing global warming, keeping millions of people in poverty and making the U.S. and the world less safe. Oil aid merely feeds our oil addiction by giving us a quick fix to ease the pain. That’s not what we need; what we need is the will to change.”
