Sanders Votes No on Republican Energy Bill that is Bad for Consumers, Bad for Taxpayers, and Bad for the Environment

Sanders Votes No on Republican Energy Bill that is Bad for Consumers, Bad for Taxpayers, and Bad for the Environment
7/28/2005

Today, Congressman Bernie Sanders voted no on the energy bill engineered by the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate. The bill, which offers billions of dollars in corporate welfare to oil companies and polluters, does nothing to decrease dependency on foreign oil or lower outrageously high gas prices. The House and Senate conference report passed by a vote of 275 to 156 in the House.

Sanders said, "This bill is nothing but a series of giveaways to the oil, coal, and nuclear companies that have spent $367 million over the last two years lobbying Congress for support. It hurts consumers by keeping gas prices sky high, it hurts our national security by keeping the U.S. dependent on foreign oil, and it hurts the environment by opening new loopholes in environmental and public health laws that threaten water supplies. This is exactly the wrong direction for our country's energy policy to be heading."

At a time when consumers are struggling to pay skyrocketing prices at the pump, the energy bill provides billions of dollars in tax breaks and funding to oil, gas, coal, and nuclear industries that are already experiencing record breaking profits. Included in the bill's more than $10 billion in corporate welfare is a $1.5 billion giveaway to Halliburton and Texas Energy Center in Tom DeLay's home district. This addition was secretly added into the bill after the conference was closed so conferees had no opportunity to reject it.

The bill also contains a host of provisions that threaten our environment including a loophole in the Safe Drinking Water act that allows oil and natural gas drilling companies to risk contamination of drinking water sources and a loophole in the Clean Water Act that allows corporations to ignore regulations that protect our water supply.

Sanders said, "At a time when we have the potential to break our dependence on fossil fuels and Middle East oil, this bill moves us in exactly the wrong direction. Instead of subsidizing polluting fossil fuels, we should be moving away from them and make strong gains in energy conservation. This bill is also a rip-off of consumers who will see no reduction in the prices they pay for gas and oil."

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/releases/20050728171309.asp