Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act
COMPREHENSIVE AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 16, 2008)
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Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Taxpayer Protection Act.
I don't know why my Republican colleagues can't take yes for an answer. We are opening up over 305 million acres. Now, granted, it's a compromise. But when you were in charge, we opened up 8 million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. I'd like to open up more, but, again, like you had to make compromises, we have. But for the first time we're going to open up more Outer Continental Shelf opportunity than anytime in history, even under years of Republican House control, Senate control and the President.
I support opening ANWR, but that didn't happen even when the Republicans were in control.
The royalty share, I'd love to share royalties with our States who allow drilling, but CBO won't let us. Maybe the Senate will bring up that point.
But I don't know why we can't take yes for an answer. If you want to drill in our country, this is the bill. Now, if you want a political issue that you think you'll ride into the November election on like you tried in August, which was more theatrics than anything else then vote ``no.'' But I'll tell you what, the American people are going to see this for what it is. And it's a comprehensive bill that will go forward.
We're going to invest that royalty into renewable energy research. I don't think it's economically feasible now, but we need to get there. But we're going to produce domestically, and send that message to the world which, you know, maybe a bill on the floor has helped us with that oil prices going down every day per barrel.
I want to thank my esteemed colleagues, Chairman Rahall, Chairman Miller and Chairman Dingell, as well as Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader HOYER and the entire Democratic Caucus for working together to craft legislation that our majority, our Congress and our country can be proud of.
Now, I know some of my friends in Congress and maybe the energy industry and the environmental community may be asking themselves one question: ``How in the world can an unholy alliance of GREEN, MILLER and RAHALL ever come together to introduce a comprehensive energy plan. The answer is very simple. America's energy needs demand it. We need to do what's environmentally good, but we also need to make sure we can keep the prices of our current fuel costs low, and whether it's for lighting our homes or cooling or heating our homes or running our vehicles or running our industry.
All sides of this debate can no longer insist my way or the highway approach to energy. We need all energy sources, both conventional and renewable, and everyone must be willing to sacrifice to reach a common good.
I personally have questions about this, some of the things in this bill. But again, this is the first step. Why would you kill it right now when we still have to work with the Senate and also get a bill passed that the President will sign?
So this is the first time we're opening this much Outer Continental Shelf drilling in the Democratic majority House of Representatives. Maybe it's just response to say no to everything that comes up because we're doing it many, many times more than what they did when they had the majority.
Our legislation improves on the original H.R. 6 from last year, at least freezing independent oil and natural gas producers at their current section 199 manufacturing. It removes the arbitrary proposals for raising royalty. There was a proposal to go to 21 percent. This administration already increased it to 16 percent. But we don't need to go to 21. It retains accountability for the tainted royalty in kind that I support.
Mr. Speaker, I will place the remainder of my statement into the Record, but let me just say one last thing.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. President Bush waited 7 1/2 years to eliminate the executive moratorium. And the Democratic Congress has only taken 1 1/2 years.
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It improves the management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve--an idea first offered by my good friend from Texas, NICK LAMPSON--by allowing a swap for heavy crude which could immediately lower prices for consumers.
Most dramatically, our proposal will help utilize our own domestic oil and natural gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf.
Our legislation incorporates many of the offshore drilling provisions I and other ``Energy Democrats'' first introduced in the LEASE Act by directing the immediate opening of all areas beyond 100 miles off our coasts.
That's over 305 million acres in the OCS that are automatically opened for oil and natural gas leasing.
States are also given discretion to ``opt-in'' to additional drilling from 50 to 100 miles off their coasts estimated at an additional 90 million acres for production.
My friends from the other side of the aisle will argue this bill does not open up enough acreage offshore.
In some instances, as in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, I agree.
But let's not forget one fact: during the height of Republican rule, under both a Republican President and Congress, Republicans were only able to direct the opening of 8.3 million acres for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush after almost 7 1/2 years in office removed the Presidential moritorium.
Today, Democrats are directing the opening of over 305 million acres with state concurrence.
This is hundreds of millions more acres that are directly opened than in the Senate's ``Gang of 20'' proposal, or in Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's ``Gas Price Reduction Act'', which has the support of 44 Republican Senators.
Most importantly, we use the revenues from oil and gas production to transition America to a clean energy future.
Our bill will create a fund to invest in clean renewable energy, energy efficiency, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, carbon capture sequestration, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
And we extend many of the critical tax credits for wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources that expire this year.
While I believe it's also fundamental to allow states to share in any offshore revenues, ``pay-go'' rules require any revenue sharing-provisions to be offset--whether it's included in this legislation or any other OCS proposal.
Mr. Speaker, our legislation isn't perfect. But we cannot make the perfect the enemy of the good. Let's pass this bill and for the first time a Democratic Congress.
Our constituents, and our Nation, can no longer wait for Congress to act on a balanced energy policy that will provide the conventional energy we need to fuel our economy and to develop the clean energy sources of tomorrow.
I urge my colleagues to support the Rahall-Green-Miller legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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