OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY LEADER

TRANSCRIPT

Hoyer Statement on CLEAN Energy Act
January 18, 2007

I THANK THE GENTLEMAN FOR YIELDING. I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS DEBATE. IT IS LIKE ALL DEBATES, INTERESTING. YESTERDAY WE HAD A DEBATE A RELATIVELY EXTENDED DEBATE THAT REPUBLICAN AFTER REPUBLICAN ROSE AND SAID THIS BILL DOES NOT DO ENOUGH. THIS DOES NOT BRING FULL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE THAT IS OBVIOUS. BUT PERSON AFTER PERSON SAID WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH FOR STUDENTS. WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH FOR COLLEGE AID. LO AND BEHOLD THE VOTE WAS TAKEN AND 356 PEOPLE OUT OF 435 VOTED FOR THAT BILL. INCLUDING 124 REPUBLICANS. WELL, WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH IN THIS BILL. THAT IS CLEAR. BUT THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES AS HAS BEEN OBSERVED STARTS WITH A STEP. ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL GOT UP AND THEN I WILL GO TO MY REMARKS TALKED ABOUT THE "WASHINGTON POST" EDITORIAL. INTERESTING COMMENT. I DON'T THINK PERHAPS SHE READ THE WHOLE EDITORIAL. THE EDITORIAL SAID THIS, THE GOOD PART OF THE BILL REVOKES TAX BREAKS FOR OIL GAS IN THE UNITED STATES THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN GRANTED. I BELIEVE IN THE FREE MARKET SYSTEM. WHAT IS THE FREE MARKET SYSTEM? IF YOU HAVE A DEMAND FOR A PRODUCT AND CAN GET A GOOD PRICE, YOU PRODUCE IT. THAT IS SUPPLY AND DEMAND. THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT HAS GONE UP AND UP AND UP. I DO NOT CRITICIZE THE OIL COMPANIES FOR WANTING A TAX BREAK. WE ALL WANT TAX BREAKS. WHAT I CRITICIZE IS THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES FOR NOT MAKING A JUDGMENT ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THAT IS WHO I CRITICIZE. THE ACTIONS TAKEN IN THE E.T.I. BILL WERE WRONG. MR. SPEAKER, ONE OF THE LESSONS THAT MOST OF US LEARN EARLY ON IS TO STUDY HISTORY SO WE CAN AVOID MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES OF THE PAST. A GENERAL RACE AGO THIS NATION FACED A SERIES OF CRISIS BORN OF OVERRELIANCE ON FOREIGN OIL, PRICES SPIKED AND SUPPLIES WERE RATIONED. IT TOOK WORK, BUT CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT ACTED TO COMBAT THAT DEPENDENCY AND USHERED IN A WEAVE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES, CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE SAVED UNTOLD BILLS OF DOLLARS AND BARRELS OF OIL AND GREATLY ENHANCED THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. UNFORTUNATELY, IN RECENT YEARS, HOWEVER, WE SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT TIME PERIOD. THE ECONOMY GREW, THE PRICE OF OIL WANED AND WE FORGOT THE PROCESS OF THE PAST AND ABANDONNED THE PROCESS TOWARD A MORE FUEL EFFICIENT EXISTENCE. CRISIS AT HOME AND ABROAD CHANGED THAT, CHANGED IT DRAMATICALLY. WE FIND OUR RESERVES ONCE AGAIN INCREASINGLY RELIANT ON FOREIGN OIL. DRILLING FOR MORE OIL AND GAS ALONE IS NOT THE SOLUTION. MR. BARTLETT SAID THAT EARLIER TODAY. OIL IS A WASTING RESOURCE. WHAT WASTING MEANS IS IT IS GOING TO GO AWAY. I HAVE A GREAT GRANDCHILD, UNLIKE SOME OF YOU WHO ARE MUCH YOUNGER THAN I AM. SHE MAY NOT USE OIL. IT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR HER. TODAY WE WILL PASS THE LAST OF THE EL BILLS WE PROMISED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WE WOULD UNDERTAKE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CONGRESS. THIS LEGISLATION IS BUT A FIRST DOWN PAYMENT ON THE PROMISE OF A NEW ENERGY FUTURE FOR OUR COUNTRY. THIS BILL IS NOT ABOUT FURNISHING -- PUNISHING ONE SECTOR OF INDUSTRY. NOR DOES THIS BILL REPRESENT THE TOTALITY OR EVEN A SUBSTANTIAL COMPONENT OF OUR ENERGY POLICY. AS EVIDENCED BY THE RURAL CAUCUS ENERGY PACKAGE, SPEAK R PELOSI AGENDA AND THE PROGRESS ACT I ALONG WITH 129-PLUS MEMBERS OF THIS BODY IN THE LAST CONGRESS INTRODUCED. HOWEVER, THE CLEAN ACT STARTS, IT STARTS, IT STARTS TO MOVE OUR NATION IN A NEW DIRECTION. IT IS ABOUT THE FOCUS OF PRECIOUS TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IS EXTRAORDINARILY WELL ESTABLISHED AND WELL OFF. I APPLAUD IT FOR BEING SO. IT DOES NOT NEED THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS' HELP TO BE SUCCESSFUL OR TO MAKE A DOLLAR. THERE IS NOT AN AMERICAN WHO GOES TO THE GAS PUMP WHO DOESN'T KNOW THAT. EVEN PRESIDENT BUSH, A FORMER EXECUTIVE OF AN OIL COMPANY, AGREES THAT THE INDUSTRY DOES NOT NEED ADDITIONAL GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES WHEN PRICES ARE THIS HIGH. BUT OUR FUTURE ENERGY RESOURCES DO NEED HELP TO GET STARTED. RENEWABLE ENERGY, ALTERNATIVE FUELS, CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS ARE UNDERUTILIZED IN OUR EFFORT TO WEAN OUR NATION OFF OUR DEPENDENCY ON FOREIGN OIL. THE MONEY SAVED BY THIS BILL WILL BE SPENT ON OUR ENERGY FUTURE AND SET ASIDE TO DO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, ACCELERATE THE USE OF CLEAN DOMESTIC RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS, TO PROMOTE THE USE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRACTICES AND CONSERVATION AND INCREASE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGIES. BY ACTING NOW TO TAKE THIS SMALL, BUT SIGNIFICANT STEP TO MOVE TOWARD MAKING AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THIS HOUSE, TO LEAVE FUTURE GENERATIONS A LASTING LEGACY THAT MAKES OUR NATION AND OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE. THE LEGISLATION IS A GOOD FIRST START IN THAT EFFORT. I URGE MY COLLEAGUES TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION. I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. MR. ENGLISH: MR. SPEAKER, IN RESPONSE MAY I YIELD MYSELF 15 SECONDS. SIMPLY TO POINT OUT TO THE MAJORITY LEADER HE IS TERRIBLY MISTAKEN IF HE THINKS HE IS REPEALING A SPECIAL TAX BREAK. IN FACT, OIL AND OTHER ENERGY PRODUCTION WAS TREATED THE SAME WAY UNDER THE TAX BILL THAT WAS PASSED AS ALL OTHER MANUFACTURES AND THIS DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURES SO STRONGLY OPPOSES THIS BILL. THIS DOES NOT FULFILL ANY OF THEIR COMMITMENTS ON ENERGY -- THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. MR. ENGLISH: FULFILL THE OPEN PROCESS. MR. HOYER: WOULD THE GENTLEMAN YIELD? MR. ENGLISH: I DON'T HAVE THE TIME. MR. HOYER: I THOUGHT NOT.