Today, with the Senate voting on a proposal to end tax giveaways to the five largest oil companies, Mitt Romney still has not been forthright about his position on the issue. Previously, when asked, Romney said that he hasn’t looked into oil subsidies, but added that all corporate tax rates should be cut.

Still, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out what his position is on the subsidies issue – all the signs are there:

• Romney has again announced his support for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which maintains $40 billion in tax subsidies for big oil companies.

• Romney’s chief energy advisor, billionaire oil executive Harold Hamm, has vocally urged Congress to maintain the tax breaks he enjoys.

• Romney’s already taken nearly $800,000 in contributions from the oil and gas industry.

• Aside from a legion of hedge fund managers, Restore Our Future – the pro-Romney Super PAC – has also received more than $1 million from the oil and gas industry.

Mitt Romney probably doesn’t pump his own gas, but he definitely has some friends who are oil executives. They’ve got his ear and they’ve lined his pockets, and they are counting on him to maintain their precious tax breaks. It’s time for Romney to stop dancing around the issue and admit that he wants taxpayers to subsidize his Big Oil friends who are making billions off of skyrocketing gas prices.

-- Tony Cani, Sierra Club Political Director

------

Learn more about the positions of the Republican Presidential Primary candidates at Realrepubs.com.

The Sierra Club Voter Education Fund’s Real Republicans project seeks to educate voters about the records of the 2012 GOP presidential candidates by highlighting their extreme positions on public health and other issues of critical importance to the American people and encourage the public to find out more about the candidates and their positions on these issues.