While Nevadans face soaring gas prices this summer, Big Oil giants like Exxon Mobil and Chevron saw a combined $8 billion windfall from the recent GOP tax bill. The bill, which was authored in part by Sen. Dean Heller, is set to increase taxes for many middle class Nevadans while giving away massive benefits to special interests and corporations. Both Exxon Mobil and Chevron, along with four other Big Oil corporate PACs, gave a combined $16,700 over a two-week span in the pre-primary period to Heller, according to his latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) report.
Heller, who over the course of his career has taken $492,600 from Big Oil and Gas, has repeatedly voted to preserve tax breaks and subsidies for big oil and voted against reforms like those proposed after the BP oil spill. His loyalty to the industry goes so far that he even held a fundraiser at the office of BP’s Washington lobbyist during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“Instead of looking out for Nevadans’ Social Security and Medicare, Senator Heller gave a massive tax break to one of his biggest corporate sponsors, Big Oil. The oil companies took the tax cut, gave Heller a $17,000 thank you, and then raised gas prices on the rest of us,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. “Sadly, we’ve come to expect this from Senator Heller. When it comes to choosing between Nevada families and his mega-donors, Dean Heller sides with the special interests every time.