Independents sweating Obama energy policies

Congress is considering major changes to the federal oil and gas tax code that would generate $36 billion or more over the next decade. It’s all part of President Barack Obama’s proposed 2010 budget, which calls for eliminating seven tax provisions and creating another excise tax on production in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent interviews, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the money would be used to beef up research and development for alternative sources like wind and solar. Geithner also said oil and gas companies, like those operating in Louisiana, contribute to global climate changes and shouldn’t enjoy the benefits of federal tax breaks. In response, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, which consists of more than 1,000 independents statewide, has ratcheted up its grassroots lobbying efforts. In March, it created a new nonprofit group called the Energy Security Alliance that thousands of anti-Obama supporters are coalescing behind (an online petition has garnered about 37,000 signatures). Don Briggs, president of LOGA, says the drive is aggressive for a reason. “Given the proposals we’ve seen from the Obama administration and Congress, we believe we are in a fight for our right to explore and produce America’s oil and natural gas resources,” he says. Read the full story here.—Jeremy Alford