Washington, D.C. – Yesterday Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. The legislation would impose an excise tax on the windfall profits of oil companies. The bill was introduced in light of the spike in oil prices following the launch of the war with Iran. Since the beginning of the war, oil prices have increased from under $70 a barrel to about $100 a barrel, and gasoline prices in America have similarly spiked. National average gasoline prices have increased from $2.94 the week before the war to $3.84 today. 

This surge in consumer pricing will undoubtedly correspond with surging profit margins for the supplying oil industry. Experts are predicting national gasoline prices could soon average $4 and may approach as high as $5 if the war continues. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the industry stands to make as much as $63 billion in boosted profits if oil prices average around $100 through the end of the year.

In response, Food & Water Watch Managing Director of Policy and Litigation Mitch Jones issued the following statement:

“Historical evidence could not be any clearer: Big Oil will undoubtedly leverage the current crisis in the Middle East to maximize profit margins, pinching American families and enriching their executives and Wall Street speculators. This demands a policy response – namely, a windfall profits tax like the one introduced today by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Ro Khanna, which would recover much of these egregious, opportunistic gains and return them to everyday Americans.

“At a time when many families are already struggling with skyrocketing energy bills caused by money-driven AI schemes from the tech industry, fossil fuel companies must be held accountable for the profiteering they are orchestrating as we speak.”