Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 4297, Tax Relief Extention Reconciliation Act of 2005
MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 4297, TAX RELIEF EXTENSION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 03, 2006)
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, might I say to my colleague on the other side of the aisle on the issue of refineries, ExxonMobil has said that they will not build refineries, that it was not part of their business plan.
The issue of switching from MTBE to ethanol was something that was known a year and a half ago or more, and the decision, they knew it, they could prepare for it, they wanted it to happen, and they did not make the preparations to make that switch-over.
Mr. Speaker, as Americans struggle with $73 barrels of oil and gas prices that could reach $4 a gallon in the coming months, we have heard every excuse in the world for why these prices have skyrocketed.
We have been told that refineries are being victimized by overbearing environmental regulations and that Americans simply do not understand the laws of economics and that the market is simply responding to high demand.
Well, it does not take an economist to recognize that the oil companies are making out like bandits. In 2005 alone, ExxonMobil, the Nation's largest oil company, earned more than $36 billion in profits, profits that were 31 percent higher than the year before. Not far behind is Shell, with $22.9 billion of profit; BP, with $19.3 billion of profits; and Chevron, which took in $14.1 billion.
So what is this Republican majority proposing? To usher through more tax cuts for oil companies in their next round of corporate tax giveaways. This only hours after this House finally relented and voted to give the FTC the authority to investigate price gouging, something Democrats have been calling for for the last 8 months.
Why on earth we would be offering still more tax cuts to an industry that is enjoying record profits is beyond me.
Even the President has acknowledged that we should be paring these gifts to industry back. It is interesting to note that he did not know in the energy bill that he signed that they had $9 billion in the energy bill that he signed; and, in fact, his administration gave a $7 billion windfall to the oil companies by waiving their royalty payments to the Federal Government.
This majority is not doing what it should be doing in this bill. What they are providing is more tax cuts.
With the Larson motion, which would prohibit oil companies from using an accounting gimmick to reduce their tax obligations, we have an opportunity to say enough. No more financing $400 million executive retirement packages with taxpayers' dollars. With soaring budget deficits, war and a host of needs here at home, we have better things to do with the taxpayer money than to line the pockets of this majority's political friends and an industry reaping historic profits from American families. Let us get that process started by passing the Larson motion.
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