Republicans in the US Senate blocked legislation on Thursday to strip billions of dollars in tax breaks for the biggest US oil companies, calling the bill a political stunt that would not help tamp down surging gasoline prices. President Barack Obama, under pressure as the pinch of higher gasoline prices becomes a hot issue in the US presidential campaign, had urged Congress to end the breaks, worth about $24 billion over 10 years, noting that oil companies were raking in record profits (IOD Mar.27'12).
展开▼
