Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1229, Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1230, Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. MARKEY. I thank the gentleman very much.
The oil companies are making windfall profits right now. Look at what just happened in the last 3 months: ExxonMobil made $10 billion; Shell, $8 billion; BP, $7 billion; $6 billion for Chevron; $3 billion for Conoco. Yet the Republicans oppose allowing the Democrats to bring out here a motion that will take away tax breaks that are meant for companies that make toasters or aluminum foil, but not the oil industry.
The oil industry does not need a subsidy from the American taxpayer as they are tipping consumers upside down at the pump every single day. We need to take back those tax breaks and use them; use them to reduce the deficit, use them to help grandma with Medicare, use them for things that are important, but not for oil companies at this time.
So, what have the Republicans decided to do? The Republicans instead have decided to squeeze--to squeeze Medicare, to squeeze the program for grandma, so that they can find the revenues to give tax breaks for oil companies. I will tell you, the GOP has set up a legislative drill rig on top of the Medicare program to poke holes in our seniors' safety net. That is right, Mr. Speaker, the Republicans are building a pipeline into the pocketbooks of our seniors so that they can pump them dry. No money for Medicare, but plenty of breaks for the oil companies. And they are going to deny the Democrats the ability to have a vote here on the House floor on those tax breaks for oil companies here today.
There is one thing that we can do in order to ensure that the speculators in the marketplace are told there is a cop on the beat, and that is to deploy the Strategic Petroleum Reserve right now. In 1991, Bush the First used it. The price went down 33 percent. In 2000, the President used the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, President Clinton. It went down 18 percent. Bush the Second used it in 2005 after Katrina. The price went down 9 percent. That is the weapon we can use right now, and send a message to Big Oil, to OPEC, and to the speculators that we mean business.
What the Republicans are saying here today is we are going to cut Medicare in order to have tax breaks for the wealthiest oil companies in the history of the world. That is not what the American people want to hear at this time of high energy prices in our country, with a dagger pointed right at the heart of the American economy, and that is what OPEC and the speculators and Big Oil are doing to our country.
Vote ``yes'' today on the previous question to give the American taxpayers the relief they need from these gifts which we give to Big Oil. Vote ``no'' on the rule and ``yes'' on the previous question.
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