Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DEGETTE. Mr. Chair, today I rise in strong opposition to the so-called Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy and Resource Security Act, which is purported to help finance the transportation bill.

I agree with my colleagues' concerns about the Keystone XL pipeline provision that forces the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the project. The permitting process for Keystone XL has become a political spin war and I urge my colleagues to oppose my colleague from Nebraska's proposal. We should allow the original permitting process to be completed fairly and without interference.

However, I come to the Floor today to talk about another huge problem with the oil shale provisions: CBO estimates they would have no significant net impact on the federal budget from 2012 2022.

Oil shale has yet to be produced in commercial quantities despite 100 years of research and development. The oil shale provisions found in H.R. 3408 are being promoted by the Majority as a funding mechanism for the surface transportation reauthorization package despite the fact that the Congressional Budget Office last week concluded that opening up 2 million acres in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for oil shale speculation would generate negligible revenue over the next decade.

Speculators have swept through Colorado throughout our state's history to try and make a quick buck off oil shale. The last time around, in the early 1980s, Federal legislation much like H.R. 3408 ushered in a boom-bust cycle that devastated communities on the Western Slope when it became clear production was not profitable. 85 million dollars in annual payroll disappeared in Garfield and Mesa counties over two years.

Oil shale is still not commercially viable--in fact, Shell Corporation estimates it could be 2020 before a company could be ready to develop a Federal oil shale lease.

We need real solutions for funding our nation's crumbling transportation infrastructure. Using H.R. 3408 as a funding source for the surface transportation reauthorization is not a good faith effort to create the jobs Americans so desperately need.

Mr. Chair, I hope every member of Congress realizes what an economic mistake H.R. 3408 is. I urge every member to oppose the PIONEERS Act and to support the amendment to strike all oil shale provisions.

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