Show-Me State of Mind for April 16th, 2008

Washington Should Answer to Consumers, Not Exxon
Everywhere I go in Northwest Missouri, residents tell me how angry they are at Washington. I share that anger and never more so than right now.With the price of gas nearly doubling since 2001, everyday Missourians can barely afford to fill their gas tanks. Truck drivers and family farmers are struggling to make ends meet, and the costs of food and other goods are rising.
At the same time, oil companies are raking in record profits. Exxon Mobil, for example, made over $40 billion in profits just last year. Now there's nothing new about oil companies making big money. What's shocking is that we pay the oil industry twice: once at the pump, and again with our tax dollars, which the government gives them in the form of generous tax credits and subsidies. Given how well the oil industry is doing right now, we need to take away those tax breaks and invest them in alternative energy instead.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a bill to do just that. H.R. 5351 would redirect a portion of the tax subsidies going to big oil companies and put them toward renewable energy projects, such as the ethanol plants and wind farms right here in Northwest Missouri. This would help to lower the price of gas, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create jobs in our own backyard.
Although a number of his fellow Republicans supported the bill, Congressman Sam Graves voted "no." I was even more appalled when Congressman Graves' office was required to report that he received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Exxon just two weeks before the vote. Only 14 other House members have received more campaign cash from Exxon than Graves has since 2006.
Now his vote makes more sense. He had to choose between consumers in the 6th District or his friends in Texas. Northwest Missourians deserve a representative who will make Washington work for them and not for special interests like big oil.
Kay Barnes is a candidate for U.S. representative for Missouri's 6th Congressional District