Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, fossil fuels were a familiar sight during my childhood and since they employed some of my family, I believed these facilities represented America’s “can do” attitude.

When I became a Republican member of Congress in 1981, well-paid oil and gas lobbyists were a familiar sight in the halls of Congress, and many of those lobbyists had a “can do” attitude: “We can do whatever we want because we are one of America’s most powerful special interests.”

I often made these fossil-fuel special interests uncomfortable during my decade in Washington because, despite my roots in fossil fuel-dependent Western Pennsylvania, I was building bipartisan support to prevent climate change — even back in the 1980s — by reducing our country’s unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels.

Now, four decades later, climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is causing costly damage to America’s economy and the profit-motivated price of a gallon of gas is causing inflation.

Despite the immense damage its products are causing, fossil-fuel industries continue to receive $6.7 billion in government subsidies this year alone! Think about that for a moment.

Subsidies originated to assist the launch, or temporarily prop up ailing industries. But oil and gas has been on the taxpayer “gravy train” for decades. Thanks to taxpayers’ subsidies as well as today’s inflated prices for us at the pump, the six largest oil and gas industries’ profits last year totaled a whopping $91 billion. We’re paying twice for their profits.

Even now, as the spiraling costs of climate change are impossible to deny, with destruction from fires, drought, extreme heat, flooding, tornados, and the increase in asthma and other respiratory ailments, Congress continues to coddle the least-patriotic industry in our nation.

This is like buying cigarettes for a lung cancer survivor.

Oil and gas companies are so used to getting their way from Congress that when they say “jump,” Congress asks ”how high?”

Calling all conservatives, and Republicans who say they oppose “handouts”: Fossil fuel subsidies are handouts. Why does Congress continue to favor this damaging industry? Look at the campaign contributions from the fossil-fuel industry. The largest recipients: Republicans.

Congress could — and should — have prevented our current fossil dependency. Unfortunately they’ve chosen “crisis management” over less costly and disruptive “preventive measures.” An ounce of prevention — worth a pound of cure? Absolutely!

We in Congress knew of climate challenges in the 1980s. My revenue-neutral Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989 enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress. It would have implemented market-based clean energy policies while growing our economy and reducing our dependence on dirty and costly fossil fuels. However, oil and gas opposition helped kill parts of this bill, costing us three decades of lost opportunities.

It is past time to hold the oil and gas industries, as well as Congress, accountable.

Until we break our longtime addiction to oil and gas, and until Congress stops favoring them with outsized subsidies, these companies will continue to rob our federal coffers, increase our deficit, and continue to rely on us, the taxpayer, for their outsized profits.

Coddling wealthy fossil-fuel companies is not in America’s best interest. It is unpatriotic.

Claudine Schneider, born and raised in Clairton, served as a Republican member of Congress from 1981 to 1991. She has been actively involved in climate mitigation since leaving office and serves on the board of Taxpayers for Common Sense.