United States President Barack Obama is asking Congress to do something about the proposals others have made to get rid of “unwarranted” tax breaks for the gas and oil industry in an effort to raise more money to fund clean energy programs across the nation.

Obama’s 2012 budget, which was revealed on February 14, showed that abolishing these tax breaks could leave the government with $46.2 billion over a period of ten years.

Jeff Sheets, Chief Financial Officer of ConocoPhillips said that taking such money away from companies that already paid really high taxes that would otherwise use the money to create energy supplies for the future was the wrong perspective to have on energy policy.

However, United States Representative Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts said, “When BP makes billions in profits, even after the year they just had, you know it’s time to cap the gusher of tax breaks that have been subsidizing the biggest oil companies for decades”.

Recently, oil prices have gone over $100 per barrel due to unrest in Arab nations, a strong demand for petroleum, and a weakening US dollar. According to BP, every $1 increase of Brent crude eventually leads to $380 million in pretax profits.