WASHINGTON - A subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee is holding a legislative hearing this morning on the new House Republican plan that would not erase the shortfall in the nation's transportation budget, but would give away more public land to oil companies. The bills being discussed today would only produce one-fifteenth of the revenue needed to close the funding gap in our transportation budget. Meanwhile, Rep. Markey and other Natural Resources Democrats this week introduced legislation that would produce $19 billion over the next ten years without any new giveaways to oil and mining companies.
Below please find the statement of Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, delivered at the subcommittee hearing:
"Yesterday, the Republican leadership unveiled what they deemed to be a new plan to fund construction projects for our nation's roads and bridges. Unfortunately, the Majority's drilling bills would barely get us started down the road of paying for a transportation bill. The four bills we are considering today would only generate one-fifteenth of the revenue that we would need to fund transportation projects for the next six years. These bills would leave us $70 billion short of funding our transportation projects over that time.
"Even the Ranking Member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Inhofe, acknowledged this week that increased drilling would not be able to fund a transportation bill, stating ‘there is no money in expanded energy production'. Senator Inhofe and I don't always see eye to eye, but on this issue I have to agree with him. We should leave no stone unturned as we look to get our nation's fiscal house in order and get our economy moving again but we don't need to drill under every single rock to do it. Just increasing the number of drill holes won't allow us to eliminate our nation's potholes.
"In reality, the Republican plan to pay for our transportation projects is nothing more than the same drilling proposals they has offered time and time again. These bills would once again place drill rigs off our beaches up and down the East and West Coasts. These bills would once again open our nation's most pristine wildlife refuge to drilling. Just because the Majority now wants to use any drilling revenue to fund transportation projects doesn't mean that we haven't been down this road before.
"On the debt deal, the Republicans said it was ‘my way or the highway'. On the Continuing Resolution they said it was ‘my way or the highway'. Now when it comes to funding the transportation bill,
