Associated PressIn addition, on the local news, I heard Durbin quoted as saying that this was not "anti-capitalist".
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin proposed a new tax on oil companies' "excessive" profits Tuesday, saying the money could help consumers cope with the high cost of gasoline and heating oil.
He said refineries have seen their profits soar 255 percent over the past year. High fuel costs threaten the economy and hurt working families, he said.
"Every dollar that you're paying at that gas pump is going into more profits for the oil companies - dramatically higher profits than they have ever seen," the Democratic senator said at a news conference.
He proposes taxing 50 percent of the profit that companies make when oil prices rise above the 2004 average of $40 a barrel. Oil is now selling for more than $60 a barrel.
The estimated $40 billion in tax money could be used to give consumers a $150 rebate, help poor families pay their home heating bills and provide $1 billion in incentives for auto companies to improve fuel efficiency.
Durbin, the Senate's minority whip, acknowledged his proposal faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress.
He defended his proposal as a fair response to rising prices in a critical industry. Durbin's aides later said a windfall profits tax was imposed on the oil industry in the 1980s.
The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association did not return a call seeking comment.
I wonder if he knows it's not going to pass, or if he doesn't care, and is only doing it for his typical rabble-rousing politics.
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