Jumpstart our Business Strength (JOBS) Act

JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STRENGTH (JOBS) ACT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Senator McCain has filed a motion to strike all of the Energy tax provisions from the JOBS bill. Senator McCain has a right to his opinion, but I overwhelmingly disagree with his opinion and I urge all of my fellow Senators to vote "No" on this amendment.

In order to secure our country's economic and national security, we need to have a balanced energy plan that protects the environment, supports the needs of our growing economy, and reduces our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Every man, woman and child in the United States is a stakeholder when it comes to developing a responsible, balanced, stable, long-term energy policy.

The events of September 11 have made very clear to Americans how important it is to enhance our energy independence. We can no longer afford to allow our dangerous reliance on foreign sources of oil to continue.

But "wait" we do, and we do it well. It has been over 10 years since we have passed energy legislation.

And if we wait until we get that "perfect" bill, the wait will be forever.

Today, we have the opportunity to correct that because we have added all of the Energy Tax provisions to this JOBS bill. Our energy tax provisions obviously are not perfect. And to those who complain about various provisions, I say, so what do we do? Do nothing? Wait for the "perfect" bill?

These provisions may not be perfect but let me tell you what we do have. We have energy tax provisions that were crafted from inception in a bipartisan manner. From the beginning, both Democrat and Republican staffs from both Finance and Energy Committees worked side by side to craft a fair and balanced energy tax package.

I may not personally believe in every one of these provisions, but the process has worked to craft an energy tax package that is good for all 50 States and all forms of energy production, both renewables and traditional oil and gas and conservation and energy efficiency.

Some of the amendments pending on this bill suggest the energy tax provisions will pick winners and losers. Is that true? Am I OK with that?

The answer is a definite "yes." Remember, the winners we pick in this bill are all Americans, all of whom have a stake in reducing our dependence upon foreign energy. We do this by favoring domestic producers over foreign producers.

It is well past time to get serious about implementing energy efficiency and conservation efforts, investing in alternative, renewable fuels and improving domestic production of traditional resources.

As you know, Mr. President, I support a comprehensive energy policy consisting of conservation efforts, development of renewable and alternative energy resources, and domestic production of traditional sources of energy.

And we will have an opportunity under Senator Domenici's leadership to address the energy policy issues at a later date, but for now we will only be considering the energy tax provisions.

As my colleagues well know, I have long been a supporter of alternative and renewable sources of energy as a way of protecting our environment and increasing our energy independence.

I strongly support the production of renewable domestic fuels, particularly ethanol and biodiesel. As domestic, renewable sources of energy, ethanol and biodiesel can increase fuel supplies, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and increase our national and economic security.

As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I continue to work closely with the ranking member, Senator Baucus, to defend an energy tax title that strikes a good balance between conventional energy sources, alternative and renewable energy, and conservation.

Among others, it includes provisions for the development of renewable sources of energy such as wind and biomass, incentives for energy efficient appliances and homes, and incentives for the production of non-conventional sources of traditional oil and gas.

I believe the energy tax provisions included in the JOBS bill does a good job to address our Nation's energy security in a balanced and comprehensive way.

I am also pleased that with the JOBS bill we have finally gotten to a point to address this important issue that has such a direct impact on our national and economic security.

For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, we must implement conservation efforts, invest in alternative and renewable energy, and improve development and production of domestic oil and natural gas resources. And we need all of the energy tax provisions to be included in the JOBS bill. I urge you to vote "no" on Senator McCain's effort.