Dems Revive Legislation to Return Big Oil’s Profits to Struggling US Families |
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With Big Oil poised to profit from a price spike driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran, congressional Democrats on Wednesday revived an excise tax that proponents say would put money back in the pockets of struggling American workers.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act “to curb profiteering by oil companies and provide Americans relief at the gas pump.”
The legislation — which only applies to large oil companies — would impose a per-barrel tax “equal to 50% of the difference between the current price per barrel of oil and the average price per barrel last year, when big oil companies were already earning large profits.”
The war in Iran is crushing our economy at home. Gas prices are up 27% and we’re spending $2B daily. Today, I’m introducing the Big Oil Windfall Tax Act with @SenWhitehouse to tax Big Oil and return this money to Americans’ pockets. pic.twitter.com/DHQYdBTwEC— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) March 18, 2026
The war in Iran is crushing our economy at home. Gas prices are up 27% and we’re spending $2B daily. Today, I’m introducing the Big Oil Windfall Tax Act with @SenWhitehouse to tax Big Oil and return this money to Americans’ pockets. pic.twitter.com/DHQYdBTwEC
As Democrats on the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works explained: “Revenue raised from the windfall profits of Big Oil companies will be returned to consumers in the form of a quarterly rebate, which would phase out for single filers who earn more than $75,000 in annual income and joint filers who earn more than $150,000. At $100 per barrel of oil, the levy would raise approximately $33 billion per year. At that price, single filers would receive approximately $216 annually and joint filers would receive roughly $324 annually.”
80 Percent of Voters Support Taxing Big Oil’s Windfall Profits, Poll Finds
The committee Democrats noted:
The price of a gallon of gas is up 80 cents just weeks after the onset of war in Iran, and the price of a barrel of oil has increased 50% from what it was at the start of the........