"Peter Duniho" wrote in message ...
"Newps" wrote in message ...
Jay Honeck wrote:
Agreed, OT, and just another win for BIG OIL. I hope the senate has a better handle on what subsidies look like and
what profits are for...

Did you READ the article?

Of course he didn't, the facts might get in the way of a preconceived notion.

Apparently neither of you read the article.

The lack of new refineries means nothing, except (as Dave S pointed out) that the oil companies don't need new
refineries to meet their demand and they don't feel like investing in their own future, except if they can get
taxpayers to subsidize it, and if they can be released from their obligations to the environment.

The article, which neither of you apparently read, pointed out that not only have no new refineries been built, oil
companies have CLOSED refineries already built. If they need refineries so badly, why did they close the ones they
had?

Furthermore, whether passing this bill was the right answer or not, the article points out that it was done in a very
underhanded way. At one point, they had 424 votes, against the bill. Somehow, they managed to REDUCE the vote count
(to 422) and yet increase the number of "ayes". In what world is it reasonable to just keep recounting the votes
until you get the answer you want? (Please, no one from Washington State answer that one ). The House voting rules
provide for five minutes to count the vote, and yet the Representative standing in for the oh-so-honorable Tom DeLay
held the vote open for more than 40 minutes, waiting until he and his friends were able to pork-barrel the votes their
way.

All of the above is in the article. Why didn't either of you notice those facts?

Thankfully, the bill did retain the environmental protections required of the oil companies. But otherwise, it's a
huge win for the oil companies, and unlikely to be much of a real benefit for consumers. We probably do need more
refineries, if for no other reason than to provide backup capacity for situations like the hurricanes. But oil
companies make plenty of money...there's absolutely no reason they can't provide their own investment in their own
future.

Any taxpayer that thinks that they will wind up paying less money overall by funding new refineries is fooling
themself.

Pete


Thanks Peter, all points covered. I stand by my original comments...