Perry’s Plan to Halt Energy Breaks Favors Oil, Gas Producers

Texas Governor Rick Perry is calling on the U.S. government to stop “picking winners and losers” among energy companies and has pledged to end federal subsidies to the industry. Under his plan, alternative energy businesses would likely lose a lot more than would fossil-fuel producers.

If Perry, 61, a Republican presidential contender with ties to oil and gas companies, reached the White House, he could allow tax breaks and other subsidies for wind and solar power and other alternative energy technologies simply to expire. Ending about $4 billion in annual subsidies written into the tax code for oil and gas producers would require congressional action, a move that even some Democrats would oppose.