Hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee - Legislative Hearing

Statement

A subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee is holding a legislative hearing this morning on the new House Republican plan that would not erase the shortfall in the nation's transportation budget, but would give away more public land to oil companies. The bills being discussed today would only produce one-fifteenth of the revenue needed to close the funding gap in our transportation budget. Meanwhile, Rep. Markey and other Natural Resources Democrats this week introduced legislation that would produce $19 billion over the next ten years without any new giveaways to oil and mining companies.

Below please find the statement of Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, delivered at the subcommittee hearing:

"Yesterday, the Republican leadership unveiled what they deemed to be a new plan to fund construction projects for our nation's roads and bridges. Unfortunately, the Majority's drilling bills would barely get us started down the road of paying for a transportation bill. The four bills we are considering today would only generate one-fifteenth of the revenue that we would need to fund transportation projects for the next six years. These bills would leave us $70 billion short of funding our transportation projects over that time.

"Even the Ranking Member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Inhofe, acknowledged this week that increased drilling would not be able to fund a transportation bill, stating "there is no money in expanded energy production'. Senator Inhofe and I don't always see eye to eye, but on this issue I have to agree with him. We should leave no stone unturned as we look to get our nation's fiscal house in order and get our economy moving again but we don't need to drill under every single rock to do it. Just increasing the number of drill holes won't allow us to eliminate our nation's potholes.

"In reality, the Republican plan to pay for our transportation projects is nothing more than the same drilling proposals they has offered time and time again. These bills would once again place drill rigs off our beaches up and down the East and West Coasts. These bills would once again open our nation's most pristine wildlife refuge to drilling. Just because the Majority now wants to use any drilling revenue to fund transportation projects doesn't mean that we haven't been down this road before.

"On the debt deal, the Republicans said it was "my way or the highway'. On the Continuing Resolution they said it was "my way or the highway'. Now when it comes to funding the transportation bill, they are saying "it's my way or OUR HIGHWAYS'. Republicans are saying we can't fix our roads unless Big Oil gets its fix. But there's a better way.

"This week, Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee introduced legislation that would generate nearly four times as much revenue as these drilling bills through ensuring that oil, gas and mining companies are paying their fair share. Our legislation would generate more than $19 billion in all over the next 10 years by closing loopholes that allow these companies -- some of the most profitable companies in the history of the world -- to drill and mine our resources without paying a dime to the American people.

"Our bill would raise roughly $1 billion by encouraging companies to begin drilling on the leases they already have -- just offshore, oil companies are currently sitting on leases that hold more than 11.5 billion barrels of oil. The legislation would raise more than $9 billion by ending free drilling by Big Oil companies on public lands offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. It would raise more than $6 billion over the next 10 years by updating the 1872 mining law that allows mining companies to extract gold, silver, uranium and other minerals without paying taxpayers any royalties and through ensuring that companies pay to clean up their abandoned mine sites.

"Big Oil has recorded $101 billion in profits through the first nine months of this year. These companies aren't just the 1 percent, they're the one percent plus. But the Majority still wants to allow these oil companies to stage an occupy movement off our nation's beaches.

"As we look to fund our nation's highways, we don't need more drilling gimmicks, we need a concrete plan. We can pave the way for a transportation bill by ensuring that the American people get a proper return on the resources below public lands.

"We are at an intersection for our nation's economic well being. As we are looking to put American families back to work by funding transportation projects, the clear place to start is by ending the free ride for oil and mining companies on public lands."

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