Energy Policy Act of 2003-Conference Report-Continued

ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2003-CONFERENCE REPORT-CONTINUED

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Washington for her stellar leadership on this issue. She has been just a beacon on this bill, on which it is appropriate to have a beacon. She is the beacon from Washington State, and I thank her for the good work she has done.

I thank my colleague from New Mexico. We are good friends. I regret I feel so strongly about this legislation in opposition to him. But I believe this is the worst legislation that I have seen in my over 20 years in the Congress. It is bad for what is in it, and it is bad for what is not in it. I will speak at much greater length on those issues when I have more time, but I would just like to mention a few things.

It is laden with special interest provisions. There is no question about it. So many people got little things for their States. Some of them are good, some of them are not good. When you add them up they are extremely expensive. It is hard to believe in an administration that is watching costs so much that a bill that was originally $8 billion should balloon to $23 billion. This includes $1 billion to build a nuclear reactor in Idaho. I understand we need projects in people's States to sort of grease the wheels of legislation, but at $1 billion a shot?

There is so much bad in this bill. To me, the two worst provisions are the MTBE and the ethanol provision: MTBE, taking people's livelihood they put into their home; their homes are ruined. Their only hope is for the oil companies, which knew how bad MTBEs were and didn't tell anybody, to help pay. We pulled the rug out from under tens of thousands of present homeowners, and millions of future homeowners who cannot even live in their homes anymore. They can't take a shower. They can't drink the water. And we are saying: Tough luck. We are giving the MTBE industry $2 billion to close. We don't give a small store owner any money when they close. In addition, we say you are absolved from your mistakes and the taxpayers, the homeowners, pick up the bill.

The ethanol provision, I have such disagreement with so many on my side of the aisle I am not going to get into it. Suffice it to say, if you want to subsidize corn, good. Don't make the drivers of New York State or Washington State or some of the other States on the coasts pay for it. I believe this can raise our gasoline prices 4 cents to 10 cents a gallon in my State, and in many others. That is not how we do things around here. It is not how we should do things around here.

How can we be asked to support a bill that does that?

But the worst thing about this bill is what my colleague from Washington mentioned, which is the missed opportunities. If there was ever a time, if there was ever a perfect storm to create a real energy policy in this country, one that we don't have, it is now. We have 9/11, and everyone realizes how we have to become independent of Middle Eastern oil. We had Enron, and everyone realizes the problems in trafficking in electricity and in the grid and that things have to be changed. We had the blackouts this summer, and everyone realizes the grid that we have can't be piecemeal anymore.

These are perfect opportunities to get our hands around the policy that will serve us well for the future. Nothing is in there. It is not simply that there are special interests and a policy, but there are special interest provisions and they take the place of any real energy policy. That is what so bothers me about this bill.

China is adopting more stringent CAFE standards than we are. Should that make us wonder what we are doing?

I read history. Great empires, great countries-and I love this country. It has been the most wonderful thing for my family that has ever happened-begin to lose it when they fail to come to grips with reality. We have a reality here. We have three realities. We are just fiddling while Rome burns. We are dancing on our merry way and giving out a little bit of pork here and a little bit there and a little bit here and not dealing with the fundamental energy problems we face.

I will have more to say later. I thank the Chair. I thank my colleague from Washington for her courtesy. I yield the remainder back to her.