According to this article in the Daily Telegraph, Democrats are preparing to hit us all where it hurts: at the pump.
Well, that's not technically what they're proposing, but it will be the effect.
The oil industry faces a $14bn (£7.1bn) bill over the next 10 years after the US House of Representatives agreed on measures that would strip the industry of tax breaks and force it to make larger royalty payments.
The bill marks the end of an often vitriolic campaign against "big oil" by Democrat politicians, who have threatened the industry for years but only now have the power to do anything about it after their electoral victory last year.
The proposals rescind $7.6bn in tax breaks for oil drillers that the Congress passed in 2004 and will raise another $6.3bn in increased royalties from companies that pump oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
The second provision attempts to correct mistakes made in drilling leases when they were first granted in the late 1990s. They entitled companies drilling in deep water to avoid royalties on much of their initial production, but omitted a standard clause that eliminated the incentive if oil prices climbed above $34 a barrel.
Although the oil companies cannot be forced to renegotiate their leases, those that refuse will be asked instead to pay a "conservation fee" on each barrel produced. If they refuse to do that, their leases will not be renewed.
The bill won overwhelming support despite opposition from the White House, which said it wrongly singled out oil companies for higher taxes, undermined "the sanctity of contracts", and increased the country's dependence on foreign oil.
However, the Democrats made targeting companies like BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron one of their key pledges last year, accusing them of "gouging" consumers through high petrol prices.
Anyone who thinks increased taxes isn't going to affect gas prices for consumers is a fool. But, well, they are Democrats, after all.
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