Top Democrat proposes killing tax breaks for overseas oil production

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) speaks to reporters after a roundtable on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty ImagesSen. Martin Heinrich will introduce a bill, shared exclusively with CNBC, to end tax breaks for U.S. oil and gas companies that operate overseas while the industry reaps massive profits as the war with Iran spikes oil prices. The bill comes days after President Donald Trump ripped major U.S. oil and gas producers for making "too much money" amid the conflict that has raised gasoline prices, and warned that companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are going to have to "give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price." Trump has, at the same time, pushed U.S. oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela after he ousted the country's former president, Nicolás Maduro.Heinrich, D-N.M., who is the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the bill would "help put American energy development on an even playing field with energy development that's happening in the Middle East or anywhere else." "Oil majors shouldn't get a tax break for going ...