Consumer First Energy Act of 2008--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

CONSUMER-FIRST ENERGY ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED -- (Senate - June 10, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we all know that gas prices and the high price of oil and all oil products is the No. 1 issue in America. Everywhere we go--Legion halls, parades, weddings--this is all people bring up, and they demand action.

Today, we in the Democratic majority are stepping to the plate with two comprehensive bills--one dealing immediately with the issue of gas prices and the oil companies and the speculation in the market and the second dealing with changing our tax policies so that we encourage alternative fuels. We are stepping to the plate because we know the problem America faces: $4-a-gallon gasoline. That is 267 percent higher than it was when President Bush took office in 2001. And we cannot pass any legislation?

We want to debate this legislation now. We have our ideas. The other side has its ideas. But we wish to move forward and debate the issue and finally get something done, and the other side, the minority leader said vote no. He is telling the American people that he and his party want to do nothing. They don't even want to debate it. That is an incredible statement at a time when America is crying out for action.

The bottom line is, we have had a White House, we have had a Republican minority that has taken zero proactive steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil for 7 years. If it wasn't for this new Democratic Congress to pass along an overdue small increase in fuel efficiency standards, President Bush would leave the White House with a record he would consider spotless, committing no sins against big oil or against OPEC.

We on this side are not afraid to go after big oil when they are not doing the right thing, and we are not afraid to go after OPEC because they are a cartel that squeezes us. We are not afraid to do some strong, tough things that will, some in the short run and some in the longer run, bring down the price, the all-too-high price of gasoline.

We are hurting as a country. We are hurting individually as Americans. We are hurting as an economy, as people do not have the ability to spend on other things. We are hurting in our foreign policy as every day we send over $1 billion to people we do not like, such as leaders of Iran, Venezuela, and other places. And we are hurting as a globe as we continue to send carbon dioxide into the air. And the other side says: Do nothing. Don't even debate the issue.

I have heard some people talk about some things on that side. What about ANWR, Alaskan oil, which was defeated in a bipartisan way a while ago? We will debate ANWR. Nobody thinks it is going to do anything for 7 years. I, for one, and many of us on this side supported drilling in the east gulf. It is beginning to happen because it would produce more oil and gas more quickly and do something about the price.

So we are not against any domestic oil production or exploration or gas production or exploration if it is going to make some sense. But we cannot drill our way out of the problem. If we do not do conservation, if we do not do alternative energy, and if we do not tell the big oil companies they can no longer run energy policy in America, we will not succeed; plain and simple. We are finally telling them.

There are many provisions in this bill, but there are four major provisions. One goes after OPEC, one goes after speculation, but the one that I helped write, along with the chairman of the Finance Committee, goes after the windfall profits of oil companies. They are making record profits, and we say take some of those record profits and require them to be placed into alternative energy.

When the head of ExxonMobil came before the Judiciary Committee a couple of years ago, he said he didn't believe in alternative energy. Well, most Americans do. And unlike my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, we don't believe ExxonMobil should dictate our energy policy. They are doing great, but we, the American people, are not.

If you want to get immediate production, do something about Saudi Arabia. They could in a minute increase supply by 1 million, 2 million barrels a day. This is not Alaska. A lot of people on the far right are saying: How can Schumer say increase Saudi production when he is not for Alaska production? Hello. One would pump oil into the system immediately and do something immediately if we could force the Saudis to do it. Some of us advocate not giving them arms until they do. One would take 7 years and, by many estimates, not do much to change the price because it is so long into the future.

It is appalling. I am profoundly surprised by the other side seeking to block this bill. I ask my colleagues to support it.

Might I ask the Chair how much time I have?

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 10 seconds.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent for 30 additional seconds.

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SCHUMER. The windfall profits tax part of this bill, which I helped write, is a different windfall profits tax. It says when the level of profitability is very high, take that money and require that it be used for alternative energy. That is not too much to ask of ExxonMobil or of Chevron, Texaco, or any of these newly merged oil firms. It will not do all the things my colleague from Kentucky said but instead will force the oil companies that are not sacrosanct to start doing something to help get us out of this mess instead of just profiting from it.

I yield the floor.

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