Adler Slams Myers for Supporting Tax Breaks for Big Oil

For Immediate Release: August 4th, 2008
Contact: Mark Warren (856.222.9707)

(Mt. Laurel, NJ) – In today’s Philadelphia Inquirer Republican congressional candidate Chris Myers is quoted as saying he supports further tax breaks for big oil companies, a notion that John Adler, the Democratic nominee for Congress in New Jersey's 3rd District, finds appalling at a time when middle class families are struggling to afford nearly $4 per gallon. Adler issued the following statement:

“I am stunned by the lack of sympathy that Mayor Myers has towards the people of South Jersey – people who struggle everyday to fill up their tank just so they can get to work.

As a friendly reminder to Mayor Myers, just last week Exxon-Mobil posted record profits of over $11 billion for the quarter, which is nearly $1,500 a second. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to hover around $4 dollars a gallon and this has had a ripple effect on our economy. Airlines are gouging passengers through increased fees and fewer services. Home foreclosures are at an all time high. Even pet adoptions are on the decline because people can’t even afford to feed themselves. Just last week, 58% of New Jerseyans said they have cut back on vacation and weekend driving.

And despite all of this, for whatever reason, Mayor Myers says that big oil should continue to get tax breaks at our expense, and he continues to defend some of the biggest, wealthiest special interests.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer; my concern is for middle class families, the same ones that Mayor Myers and the Washington special interests have forgotten about. This is the same Chris Myers who said that “the economy is basically strong.” Mr. Mayor, with all due respect, when are you going to wake up and realize what’s going on all around you?

I believe we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by putting a stop to tax breaks for big oil companies, and investing the money in alternative energy sources.”

John Adler has released a comprehensive plan to fight our nation’s addiction to foreign oil, and invest in a national strategy for pursuing energy independence and renewable sources energy. The Adler plan is as follows:

Short-Term solutions
• Prosecuting oil companies that practice price gouging.
• Temporarily halting shipments to the Strategic Petroleum reserve.
• Enforcing the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act that authorizes the Justice Department to investigate price gouging and take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that collude to limit the supply or fix the price of oil.
• Eliminating billions of dollars in tax subsidies to big oil companies.
• Closing the so-called "Enron Loophole" that allows unregulated speculation and price manipulation in the commodities market by big-oil interests, driving up the price of oil and natural gas at the expense of the consumer.
Long-Term solutions
• Invest in wind, solar, bio-diesel, geothermal, and other sources of renewable energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and fossil fuels.
• Establish the renewable electricity standard at 25 percent for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2025.
• Provide tax incentives for energy-efficient buildings and appliances.
• Provide incentives to people who use clean, alternative energy and companies that produce it.
• Set new mileage standards for all cars at 40 miles per gallon
• Mandate carbon-neutral federal offices. Half of the energy used by the federal government goes toward powering over 500,000 federal buildings around the country, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $5 billion.

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