Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the tragic bombings in London are a sober reminder of how vulnerable America and our allies remain to terrorism. What happened in London last week is likely to be tragically replicated if our country does not act boldly to reduce what ought to be called a terror tax now imposed on the American people.

I call it a terror tax because when we pull up to the corner gas station and pay $2.40 a gallon or so for gas, the reality is a portion of that money is then turned over to foreign governments that ``back door'' it over to Islamist extremists who use that money to perpetuate terrorism and hate.

What I call the terror tax is not posted as a price at our gas pump. We do not see it in our pay stub. It is not calculated in our balance of payments to foreign governments. It is a tax measured not in dollars and cents but in risk and insecurity to the American people. It is as real as everything else the American people put their money toward each week.

Of the 20 million barrels of oil Americans consume each day, almost 12 million barrels of it is imported. That percentage, now nearly 60 percent, is growing. It was only about 33 percent at the time of the Arab oil embargo years ago. Our addiction to foreign oil has nearly doubled in what amounts to just a few years.

In the next few weeks, the House and Senate will be sitting down as part of an effort to write an Energy bill that must take as its priority helping to shake us free of this addiction to foreign oil.

I voted against the Energy bill in the Senate because I felt it did not do enough to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but I hope, especially at this critical time, on a bipartisan basis during this conference it will be possible to make this legislation better.

I believe it is important to do as much as possible to reduce the terror tax that comes with our dependence on foreign oil. It is not good enough to accept business as usual when our citizens pay record prices at the gas pump, only to see foreign governments wink and nod while terrorist groups make off with substantial amounts of money and use those funds to target the United States. In my view, there is an indisputable link not only between the American dependence on foreign oil and the price our citizens pay at the pump, but between our oil addiction and our vulnerability to attack here at home.

For this reason, as the House and Senate get together to look at a strategy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, I intend to propose five concrete steps to reduce the terror tax.

First, I want the State Department to publish each year for the next 10 years a report on the flow of money paid by Americans at the gas pump to foreign governments that ends up in the hands of Islamic extremists who target America with acts of terror.

Second, since most foreign oil goes to the transportation sector, I want the American automobile industry to be required to increase auto efficiency by just 1 mile per gallon each year for the next 10 years. Think about what a modest step that is--just 1 mile per gallon. Otherwise, the auto industry ought to explain to the American people why they cannot meet this objective that I am calling for that is so important to the national security of our people.

Third, for each of the next 10 years, the Energy Department should publish a list of the most energy-efficient cars in each of the major types of vehicles so the auto industry would have to compete on the basis of the most fuel-efficient automobiles.

Fourth, to increase the responsible production of oil in America, not overseas, companies that increase oil production at existing wells shall receive a 2-percent annual increase in their tax writeoffs for this production for each of the next 10 years that the company increases production from existing wells in the United States.

Finally, this bill must promote new alternatives to oil. I have proposed a no-risk way to kick-start efforts to get hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road within the decade. By creating incentives for selling hydrogen vehicles and fuels, we would pay only for performance. Only actions that put hydrogen vehicles on the road or provide stations to fuel up would qualify for the incentives.

In the nearer term, other alternatives would become readily available. They include cellulosic ethanol made from plant materials grown by American farmers as well as electricity produced by flexible fuel hybrid electric vehicles that can be plugged in as well as refueled at the pump.

Getting a fair energy bill that reduces our dependence on foreign oil is just about the most red, white, and blue step this Congress could take. It is absolutely critical if we are to do everything possible to ensure our national security. Experts from a range of political stripes agree that the single most important step Congress can take to make America more secure is to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.

As a member of the conference committee on the energy bill, I look forward to working with my colleagues to secure these commonsense steps to end the terror tax brought about as a result of our addiction to foreign oil. Doing so is simply a matter of life and death for the citizens we respect so much here at home.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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