Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - May 24, 2005)

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AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, first I would like to thank my colleagues for allowing me to offer the amendment.

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Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. The legislative intent of this amendment is to increase the funding for the EnergySmart Schools Program administered by the Department of Energy by $1,000,000, offset by a reduction in administrative expenses for the Department of Energy's public affairs department. It is the intent of this amendment that the increased funds for the EnergySmart Schools program will be directly administered and the grants be directly made by the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and that they will not go through a third part. I am aware that the public affairs department of the DOE has received an increase of $1,000,000 above Fiscal Year 2005 funding and it is the intent of this amendment to return the funding for the public affairs department to the Fiscal Year 2005 level.

Mr. Chairman, our Nation's school systems are in crisis. Their budgets are threadbare and most can barely pay their teachers a living wage. To make matters worse, America's school buildings are aging-the average age is 42 years-and the vast majority could greatly benefit from energy-saving improvements. Unfortunately, school administrators are often hard-pressed to allocate any of their limited funds toward improving the energy efficiency of their buildings and systems, even when it is clear that such improvements would save them substantial sums of money that could help pay their teachers of the future. Fortunately, the Department of Energy has an energy conservation program to help these schools do just that: to implement energy-saving strategies that save money, help children learn about energy and create improved teaching and learning environments.

The Department of Energy's EnergySmart Schools Program-an integral and active part of the Rebuild America program-is committed to building a nation of schools that are smart about every aspect of energy. The program provides information on energy efficient solutions for school bus transportation, conducting successful building projects and teaching about energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. It also works with school districts to introduce energy-saving improvements to the physical environment, enabling many schools to leverage their energy savings to pay for needed improvements, and it takes a proactive role in promoting and supporting energy education in our schools.

Often, this enables school districts to save big on utility bills and maintenance costs, in turn freeing up funds to pay for books, computers and teachers, and improve indoor air quality and comfort. According to the Department of Energy, nationally, K-12 schools spend more than $6 billion a year on energy and at least 25 percent of that could be saved through smarter energy management, meaning energy improvements could cut the Nation's school bill by $1.5 billion each year. As an added benefit, many of the same improvements that help to lower a school's energy consumption also serve to improve the classroom environment, removing noisy, inefficient heating and cooling systems, inadequate lights, and ventilation systems that don't restrict indoor contaminants.

In short, Mr. Chairman, the EnergySmart Schools program helps our Nation's schools to implement energy-saving strategies that save money, help children learn about energy and create improved teaching and learning environments. My amendment would add $1,000,000 to support this excellent program-offset by a reduction in administrative expenses for the Department of Energy's public affairs department.

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Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SANDERS. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, if we do not have to engage in any further debate, I support the gentleman and am prepared to accept the amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank my friend very much.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, congratulate the gentleman for his leadership, and thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) for her support, and concur with the gentlewoman's remarks.

Mr. Chairman, all over this country, the people are asking a simple question: When will the United States Congress stand up and protect those workers in Vermont and all over this country who are spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year more at the gas pump?

Our Republican friends talk about tax breaks given to people. Those tax breaks have been eaten up many times over by people who are forced to pay outrageously high prices in order to get to work. This affects not only people in rural States like Vermont. It affects small businesses, farmers, the airline industry, the trucking industry; and, in fact, nobody denies it is affecting our entire economy. When is Congress going to stand up?

Meanwhile, while working people are paying more and more to fill up their gas tanks, the large oil industry corporations are reaping record-breaking profits.

I think it is about time that we started paying attention to the American worker and we did something, at least right now, to lower the cost of gas at the pump.

As the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) mentioned, this is not a new idea. In fact, it is not a partisan idea. This is a concept that has been supported by Democrats and by many Republicans. It has been supported by the first President Bush and by former President Clinton.

Specifically, this amendment would suspend oil deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is what President Bush did in 1991, what President Clinton did in 2000. This action would have the very immediate impact of lowering gas prices in America now.

Mr. Chairman, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently contains about 693 million barrels and the administration is pushing to increase that number to over 700 million barrels.

Today, approximately 72,000 barrels of oil per day are still being added to the SPR, over 2 million barrels per month. This amendment would suspend these oil deliveries and put this oil back on the market which could lead to lower prices immediately upon its implementation.

It would also keep gas prices down by making sure the government is not competing against consumers in the marketplace at a time when gas prices are so high.

Mr. Chairman, extrapolating from at least three economic studies done by Goldman Sachs, the largest crude oil trader in the world, the Air Transport Association, and petroleum economist Phillip Verleger, the estimate is, by releasing some 15 million barrels from SPR, we could reduce gasoline prices at the pump by 10 to 25 cents per gallon. By voting for this amendment today, we will be sending a very strong message to the President and that is, Mr. President, release oil from SPR right now.

Mr. Chairman, in the spring of 2002 when the price of gas was starting to increase, the staff at the Department of Energy recommended against buying more oil for SPR. DOE staff said, "Commercial inventories are low, retail prices are high, and economic growth is slow. The government should avoid acquiring oil for the reserve under these circumstances."

Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned earlier, there is bipartisan support for this concept. The time is now for the United States Congress to listen to those working people in the State of Vermont and elsewhere who have to travel 100 miles back and forth to work each day. That is not uncommon in this country.

These workers, who are seeing in many cases a real decline in their wages, need help. It seems to me that at a time when the profits of the oil industry are soaring, when workers are struggling to keep their heads above water, when the price of gas is soaring, now is the time for us to act and act immediately.

I would hope we would have strong support from both sides of the aisle for this important amendment.

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