U.S. Has Royalty Plan to Give Windfall to Oil Companies By EDMUND L. ANDREWS Published: February 14, 2006 WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 â The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years. Royalty-Free Oil and Gas New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government. Based on the administration figures, the government will give up more than $7 billion in payments between now and 2011. The companies are expected to get the largess, known as royalty relief, even though the administration assumes that oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel throughout that period. Read the Rest Here http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/b...1140110366-I6V8woqT8UwRdtTCPdy6uQ&oref=slogin
Now Contrast the above massive welfare program for large oil corporations with the massive CUTs for basic medical research and Childrens programs. Deficit-reduction package squeaks through in House By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY Posted 2/1/2006 5:32 PM Updated 2/1/2006 10:29 PM Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the leader of the conservative House Republican Study Committee, called the deficit-reduction package an "important first step for restoring public confidence in the fiscal integrity of our government." The measure will take $11.9 billion out of student loan programs during the next five years, $6.9 billion from Medicaid and children's health insurance programs, and $6.4 billion from Medicare. It will raise student loan interest rates, premiums for wealthier Medicare beneficiaries, and co-payments for about 13 million Medicaid recipients. It also will impose tougher welfare work requirements. The Medicaid cuts were most difficult for many moderate Republicans to swallow, even though they amount to about one-half of 1% of the five-year cost of the federal-state program. To win, Republicans had to keep the votes of moderates such as Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York. He said after the vote that attacks and ads by liberal groups did not sway him from his earlier support for the package. The vote was particularly important to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who faces two challengers today in an internal Republican contest for majority leader, the No. 2 House leadership post. Democrats said the measure unfairly targeted moderate- and low-income Americans, while the wealthy would benefit disproportionately from future tax cuts. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who leads House Democrats' campaign efforts, said the student aid and child support savings will haunt Republicans at the polls. "You give a whole new meaning to 'women and children first,' " he said. Read the rest here http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-01-house-budget-cuts_x.htm