Zimmer Welcomes Menendez To Promote Bill To Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes

With thousands of barrels of oil still spilling into the Gulf, Mayor Dawn Zimmer welcomed U.S. Senator Bob Menendez on Monday morning in his efforts to close tax loopholes for the major oil companies.

With a BP gas station in the background, the senator said that closing the loopholes would mean saving New Jersey's tax payers $750 million in the next ten years. It'll save the country a total of $20 billion, he said. 

"And it could very well be more than that," he added. Menendez said that the oil companies rake in billions of dollars in profits a year, and thus don't need any tax loopholes. 

Zimmer welcomed the "hometown senator," while also mentioning her goal to make Hoboken a greener and more energy efficient place. Zimmer said she supports the senator's bill because it would mean lower federal and state taxes for the people of Hoboken. 

"If there is a silver lining to this disaster," Zimmer said, "it's that the country is seeing with its own eyes the often hidden costs of our addiction to fossil fuels.

Oil companies take advantage of a series of tax loopholes, Menendez said, while still raking in billions of profit. "Big Oil doesn't need $20 billion from U.S. tax payers' money to be profitable," Menendez said. 

"Unlike the gushing in the golf," Menendez said, "we can shut these loopholes and cut them down." And just like the current oil spill, the money that flows into the big oil companies is "heavy and constant," the senator said. 

Menendez praised Zimmer for riding her bike around town, as an example of helping Hoboken becoming a greener city. "I do think it's the best way to get around Hoboken," Zimmer said after the press conference. 

JD Capuano, a board member of the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition, was invited by Zimmer to speak. Capuano, who said he had been laid off because of the recession, said he's looking forward to using "clear, safer and renewable sources of energy." 

Capuano said the QLC is working on recycling programs and other "green" initiatives.