Senate Defeats Bill To End Tax Break For Oil Companies

Massachusetts' U.S. senators find themselves on opposite sides of a proposal to end a tax break for oil companies.

Sen. John Kerry voted to end a filibuster on the measure. Sen. Scott Brown voted against ending debate, thereby preventing the measure from moving forward.

The bipartisan proposal would have eliminated a tax deduction that oil companies can take when they pay royalties to foreign governments.

Brown was one of 47 senators who voted against the measure. His likely Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, says the subsidy is costing taxpayers $2 billion a year.

"It's a pretty shocking deal," Warren said. "The oil companies last year — the big five — made $137 billion in profits."

But Brown says the bill would do nothing to reduce gas prices.