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The world's largest oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp., announced first-quarter profits of $8.4 billion today, up 7 percent from a year ago.
Although the net earnings fell below some analysts' expectations, they still gave the Texas-based oil giant the fifth-highest quarterly profits ever recorded by a publicly-traded company, and they appeared likely to contribute to growing pressure on the Bush administration and Congress to relieve the public's pain over high fuel prices.
With gasoline topping $3 a gallon in some parts of the country, Senate Republicans are considering legislation to send $100 rebate checks to millions of taxpayers and suspend a federal tax on retail fuel sales. But they are trying to package the measure with a controversial proposal to allow oil drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska, guaranteeing a fight with Senate Democrats.
"As we see skyrocketing gas prices around the country, it is time for this Congress to act," Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota) said in a floor speech in which he gave some details of the proposal. He said the legislation would suspend a retail gasoline tax of 18.4 cents a gallon until Sept. 30 to help motorists during the heavy summer driving season. To offset the lost revenue, Thune said, the bill would suspend a number of tax credits and royalty waivers benefiting the oil companies.
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