Supporting National Pipeline Safety Day
Floor Speech
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Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for his generosity with the time.
I rise in support of this resolution, designating National Pipeline Safety Month. Mr. Speaker, pipelines obviously play an important role in our society through the operation of our homes, our businesses, and the delivery of energy to drive our cars, to cook our food, to keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is an undeniable reality that energy affects all aspects of our lives, and all Americans need it and depend on energy.
That's why it's unfortunate that some in the majority and in the administration, frankly, are proposing this cap-and-trade legislation that many are calling cap-and-tax legislation that would dramatically increase the cost of energy for all Americans, every single American. Estimates say that this bill could increase a cost to a family of four close to $3,000 a year, $2,937 a year, to be exact, and raise electrical rates on families by 90 percent after adjusting for inflation, boost gasoline prices by 74 percent on American families, and natural gas prices by 54 percent. If that were not bad enough, it would also put American businesses at a huge competitive disadvantage with their competitors from other countries that don't pursue that kind of legislation, be it China or India.
Now let's take a look at what some key players in the administration have recently stated about this legislation, some facts. For example, Peter Orszag, as CBO director and currently as the OMB director, testified to the Ways and Means Committee on September 18, 2008. He said, ``Decreasing emission would also impose costs on the economy. Much of those costs will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for energy and energy-intensive goods.''
Mr. Orszag's written testimony stated that the average annual household cost was $1,300. That's for a 15 percent cut in CO2 emissions, which, by the way, happens to be 80 percent less than the cut sought by this administration.
Another fact. On March 17, 2009, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, testifying before the Science Committee said, ``The cap-and-trade bill will likely increase the cost of electricity.''
Another fact I would like to bring up today, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said advocating adjusting trade duties as a ``weapon'' to protect U.S. manufacturing, because otherwise, again, U.S. manufacturing would be put at a huge disadvantage. He said establishing a carbon tariff would help ``level the playing field'' if other countries haven't imposed mandatory reductions in carbon emissions; again, referring to the fact that it would put our industry at a huge, huge disadvantage. Again Mr. Chu said, ``If other countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage,'' and he went on to say, ``and we would look at considering duties to offset that cost.'' But the legislation doesn't have those in the bill.
Again, what we are looking at then is, the United States will impose a self-inflicted wound to put our industry and our country at a huge disadvantage, increasing costs of energy to all consumers in this great country of ours at a time in particular when everybody is hurting.
Last month on May 21, the current CBO director testified before the House Budget Committee and said, ``CBO has been very clear that a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax would raise the price of carbon emissions, and the cost would ultimately be borne by households.'' Again, it's not rocket science, Mr. Speaker. And again, ``It's also widely understood that if we raise the price of carbon emissions and our trading partners do not, then that creates an additional challenge for carbon-emitting industries.'' Those are his words. I added that part about the rocket science, to be fair; but those are his words.
So it's fitting that we are now here talking about pipelines and energy. I just hope that we don't forget the big picture as well and that we don't impose this huge cost on our consumers and those who use gasoline and turn on lights, like everybody does, that manufactures using energy, like every industry does, that we don't put them at a huge disadvantage.
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