As Trump’s War Surges Gas Prices, Whitehouse, Magaziner, and Amo Call for Big Oil Profits Clawback to Get Rhode Islanders Relief at the Pump

Big Oil Windfall Profits bill would protect consumers from giant oil companies exploiting world events to jack up prices

Washington, D.C. - With gas prices skyrocketing because of President Trump's war in the Middle East, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Seth Magaziner, and Congressman Gabe Amo are calling for passage of the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act to curb profiteering by oil companies and provide Rhode Islanders relief at the gas pump.

"Rhode Islanders are once again getting squeezed at the gas pump as President Trump's war in the Middle East sends gas prices soaring and money flowing to his Big Oil donors," said Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "We should send any big windfall that Big Oil is getting out of this war back to the hardworking people who paid for it at the gas pump."

Whitehouse's legislation is cosponsored by Senator Jack Reed as well as Congressmen Magaziner and Amo.

President Trump's war in Iran has further disrupted an already volatile global oil market by reducing supply and choking key shipping lanes. The price of a gallon of gas is up over $1.60 in Rhode Island since the start of the war. By one estimate, Big Oil companies are on track to haul in $234 billion in windfall profits this year.

The Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax would provide consumers guaranteed relief while maintaining American competitiveness and reducing pressure on inflation by attacking corporate profiteering. Under Whitehouse's bill, large oil companies that produce or import at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day (or did so in 2025) will owe a per-barrel tax equal to 50 percent of the difference between the current price per barrel of oil and the average price per barrel last year, when big oil companies were already earning large profits. The quarterly tax will apply to both domestically produced and imported barrels of oil to ensure a level playing field.

Smaller companies accounting for roughly 70 percent of the domestic production will be exempt, so oil giants like Exxon Mobil and Chevron cannot gouge consumers further without the risk of losing market share.

Revenue raised from the windfall profits of Big Oil companies will be returned to consumers in the form of a quarterly rebate, which would phase out for single filers who earn more than $75,000 in annual income and joint filers who earn more than $150,000. If oil is priced at roughly $100 per barrel, this levy would raise approximately $33 billion per year. At this price, single filers would receive an estimated $216 each year and joint filers $324.

Whitehouse first introduced the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax in March 2022 as Big Oil jacked up gas prices against a backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to an analysis from Global Witness, the five largest publicly traded oil companies - Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies - hauled in $134 billion in excess profit in fiscal year 2022.

Text of the bill is available here. A one-pager is available here.