The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ENERGY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H9608-H9609 on Nov. 3, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ENERGY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, middle-class families across this Nation are struggling to make ends meet. While housing and education prices are skyrocketing, wages have been held stagnant for the last 3 years. Now families can add energy to the list of out-of-control costs to their family budget.
Gas is around 3 bucks a gallon. Utilities are now predicting families could pay as much as 70 percent more to heat their homes this winter. Natural gas prices are so high the Energy Department is predicting the average family will pay $350 more this winter than last winter. Home heating oil, used by many in the Northeast and Midwest, is skyrocketing.
But while American families struggle with sky-high energy bills, oil and gas companies face a totally different problem: too much cash. For example, Exxon Mobil recently reported their profits increased by 75 percent. Their revenues: $100 billion. Shell Oil, earnings 68 percent up. Phillips, 89 percent up. B.P. Amoco, 34 percent rise in quarterly earnings.
American families are struggling with massive energy bills that cut into their living expenses, their college costs, and their health care costs, while energy companies are reaping huge, huge profits.
Henry Hubble, a senior vice president at Exxon Mobil said, ``You have got to let the marketplace work.'' I agree with the executive from Exxon Mobil. Let the marketplace work.
But here is where we disagree. When they had an energy bill down on this floor, the oil companies got a $14 billion taxpayer-funded corporate welfare giveaway to do oil and gas drilling around this country. They got $14 billion for companies making record profits.
That is what we call corporate welfare. If they want the marketplace to work, give the taxpayers back their $14 billion. We should be not be subsidizing their business plans. Taxpayers are not in the business of helping companies making revenue runs at $100 billion a quarter where profits are up 89 percent.
The Congress, not Democrats but the Republicans in Congress, are cutting college loans by $14 billion, they are cutting nutritional programs for 40,000 kids, and they are cutting kids health care. Yet what have they held sacrosanct? $14 billion to Exxon Mobil. My view is what corporate America needs in the energy business is a little free market medicine.
We have seen nothing but corporate welfare around here in subsidizing the energy industry, and it is high time they get off the dole and started running their own business plan and stop asking the taxpayers to fund them. The only reason they do that around here is because, since 1980, the big oil companies have contributed $220 million to the Republican candidates for Congress, Senate, the Presidency, and their party. They have gotten a $14 billion return. You cannot get an investment return like that on Wall Street. It is 200 percent on their investment that they have gotten.
This Congress has given big oil $14 billion in tax subsidies. If that is not bad enough, there is a refinery bill where we ended up giving them another $2 billion that they did not even ask for. So with oil running at basically $3 a gallon at the gas pump, not only do consumers have to pay inflated prices to big oil at the gas pump, but on April 15 they get a bill because they have given them $14 billion in taxpayer-
funded corporate welfare so they can do one thing: execute their business plans.
Well, I am suggesting they start doing a little more free enterprise in executing their business plans and stop relying on the taxpayers of America, who are struggling with sky-high energy prices, sky-high health care costs, and sky-high college tuition costs, just trying to struggle to make ends meet.
What Congress would actually cut home heating assistance to our most needy citizens yet give Exxon Mobil and the other big energy companies
$16 million? A Republican Congress, but, of course, this should make sense to all of us who have seen what goes on around here.
When the Speaker's gavel comes down, that gavel is intended to open the people's House, not the auction house. What has happened around here lately when it comes to big oil companies is we auction off the American people and their future. When it comes to the pharmaceutical companies, who gave $132 million, they ended up with $135 billion in additional profit when we did the prescription drug bill. When we had a $5 billion problem to fix with Europe on the corporate trade tax issue, what did this Republican Congress do? Of course, $150 billion tax giveaway to corporate America to solve a $5 billion problem. Only using their type of math do you work like that.
Pharmaceutical companies. Big oil companies. Corporate special interests. Selling away America. The Speaker's gavel is intended to open the people's House, not the auction house, and the United States Congress had better start acting like the people's House, because lately we are giving Christie's a run for its money around here.
You cannot give out money fast enough to the energy companies, who are making massive profits, and on the other hand cut those who are most needy. You cannot have a policy in the country that says to oil companies, who are reaping huge profits, and that is their business, but we should not subsidize their business, we are going to give you more while cutting those who are struggling. These are not the values of this country, these are not the values of the Democratic party, and, thank God, they are not the values of the American people.
We need a change. We need new priorities that focus on America's future. We can do better, and it is high time we turn the people's House back to the American people.
____________________
