June 30, 2025

Wyden, Colleagues Demand Explanation from Big Oil Corporations Lobbying for Tax Breaks at the Expense of American Families

Senate Republicans included a $1 trillion loophole for Big Oil in the big, bad reconciliation bill that would allow massive corporations to avoid paying federal taxes

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he is demanding an explanation from Big Oil companies on their efforts to win a $1.1 billion tax loophole in the Republican budget reconciliation bill that would leave middle-class families in Oregon and nationwide with higher energy costs. 

Senate Republicans are paying for this handout by cutting clean energy tax credits and vital energy programs. The reconciliation bill would add a loophole to the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) for ConocoPhillips and Ovintiv Inc. (Ovintiv). This provision would reduce or eliminate tax liabilities for oil and gas companies under the corporate alternative minimum tax, allowing some to pay no federal income taxes whatsoever.

“The rationale for CAMT was simple: for far too long, massive corporations had taken advantage of loopholes in the tax code to avoid paying their fair share, sometimes paying zero federal taxes despite earning billions in profits,” Wyden and three other senators wrote the oil companies. “CAMT imposed a minimum tax on annual income that billionaire companies reported to their shareholders and is expected to raise over $200 billion over ten years from some of the largest and most profitable companies in the world.”

Experts say the Republican bill would contribute to “higher electricity costs for consumers,” adding to already skyrocketing utility bills. Households are at risk of losing more than $2,200 in savings per year on utility bills.

“Adding this tax break for Big Oil to the reconciliation package is especially insulting since Senate Republicans are trying to pay for this handout with cuts to other programs that would end up raising energy prices for everyday Americans,” the senators continued. “Congress should not raise energy prices for working families to deliver handouts to Big Oil.”

In addition to Wyden, the letter is led by Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The senators are pushing ConocoPhillips and Ovintiv Inc. for answers to the following questions by July 9, 2025.

  1. How much has ConocoPhillips spent, and how much does it expect to spend in total on lobbying expenses on Republicans’ tax legislation in 2025?
  2. In the past 12 months, how much money has ConocoPhillips donated, whether directly or through other vehicles for political donations, to federal elected officials who are advocating for tax cuts for your company?
  3. How much of a reduction in tax liability would ConocoPhillips receive if Section 70523 of the Senate reconciliation package became law?

A full text of the letter is here.