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Congresswoman Katie Porter took a fossil fuel industry executive to task for falsely suggesting during a House hearing on Tuesday that oil and gas companies don't receive special

treatment in the U.S. tax code, a claim that the California Democrat quickly refuted--while also offering to eliminate the tax breaks. Asked by Porter to explain how much of his

company's intangible drilling costs is tax deductible, Mark Murphy of Strata Production--a New Mexico-based oil and gas exploration company--responded that "we get to deduct all of

those just like any other business." "There seems to be a misconception out there that you're operating from that somehow the oil and gas industry benefits from some special

sort of tax structure," said Murphy, the president of Strata Production. "We don't." Porter, a second-term congresswoman who has developed a reputation for her incisive

grilling of corporate executives and government officials, swiftly undercut Murphy's narrative, explaining: "You do benefit from special rules. There's a special tax rule for

intangible drilling costs that does not apply to other kinds of expenses that businesses have." "You get to deduct 70% of your costs immediately, and other businesses have to

amortize their expenses over their entire profit stream," Porter added. "So please don't patronize me by telling me that the oil and gas industry doesn't have any special

tax provisions. Because if you would like that to be the rule, I would be happy to have Congress deliver." Watch the exchange: > \u201cA Big Oil exec told me I had a 

"misconception" about a special > tax break polluters get that other businesses don't.\n\nSo, after > explaining the deduction to him, I offered to write it out of the

> tax code if that what he wants. Just let me know!\u201d > — Rep. Katie Porter (@Rep. Katie Porter) 1615317920 Environmentalist Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, was among those

who applauded Porter's debunking of the fossil fuel executive's false claim. "The wonderful Rep. Katie Porter provides a signal moment in congressional history," McKibben

tweeted. "And it's a sign of the weakening position of the oil industry--no deference to these liars any longer." Porter is the lead sponsor of Ending Taxpayer Welfare for

Oil and Gas Companies Act, legislation introduced last week that would--according to a summary from the California congresswoman's office--"raise royalties, rental rates,

inspection fees, and penalties on oil and gas companies that extract resources from public lands." "Public lands are a collective national treasure that belong to the American

people--polluters that want to extract energy on these lands owe taxpayers a fair price," Porter said in a statement. "We haven't raised the rental rate for mining on public

lands since I was in junior high, and we've been charging oil and gas companies the same royalty rate for over 100 years. My Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Companies Act would

protect taxpayers and give these prices a decades-overdue update." Following Tuesday's hearing, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) welcomed Porter to sign on to his bill with Rep. Sean

Casten (D-Ill.) calling for the elimination of nearly a dozen tax provisions that "unfairly benefit oil and gas companies." "Count me in!" Porter responded.