[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 76 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE NATION'S ENERGY SITUATION

  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I take the floor at this time to comment 
on a meeting that was held at the White House this morning with 
approximately 80 Members of Congress of both parties, both Republicans 
and Democrats. Both House Members and Members of the Senate were 
present. We met with the President of the United States and with the 
Secretary of the Treasury, Lloyd Bentsen, as well as the Deputy 
Secretary of Energy, Secretary Bill White.
  The purpose of the meeting was to come together as a group and an 
organization to, No. 1, impress upon the President the serious 
condition that this Nation's energy situation happens to be in. We are 
now importing over 51 percent of the oil that we use in America to run 
our industries, for national security, and for national defense.
  Mr. President, it is clear that, if we imported 51 percent of the 
food that we eat in America, people would be lined up surrounding the 
White House and surrounding this Capitol protesting the fact that we 
should not be dependent upon foreign sources for something as important 
as food. I would be supportive of that. But it is equally important, 
when we are talking about national security and national defense, that 
oil and gas and energy development is equally as important as food from 
the security standpoint of the Nation.
  So our point, No. 1, Mr. President, was to tell this administration 
that there indeed is a very serious problem and that action should be 
taken in order to make sure it does not get even worse. We have lost 
hundreds of thousands of jobs in the oil and gas industry, much more 
than we have lost in the automobile industry, as a comparison. And we 
made specific recommendations to this administration.
  I will tell you that, in the 22 years I have been in Congress, I have 
never seen an administration, Republican or Democrat, that was more 
willing to sit and listen for over an hour and 15 minutes to Members of 
the House and Members of the Senate give suggestions as to what should 
be done. The President took notes and engaged in dialog with the 
delegation. And I think he took our recommendations very seriously.
  I recommended two specific things, Mr. President. No.1, to allow for 
the expensive geological and geophysical data gathering. Right now, it 
is interesting that companies that use geological and geophysical 
equipment, with their high cost, our companies can deduct 100 percent 
immediately if they hit a dry hole, but if they hit a producing well, 
then they cannot deduct it; they can only depreciate it over a much 
longer period of time. Those two efforts should be treated the same. It 
can be done at a very small cost to the Treasury and yet would help 
create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
  No. 2, Mr. President, I recommended that we ought to have a $5 per 
barrel tax credit for oil and gas that is produced in deep water off 
the coast of the United States in environmentally safe areas. Right now 
that production is not occurring. It is not occurring because the price 
of oil is hovering at $14 or $l5 a barrel. It is going up now.
  My proposal says that these wells that would not otherwise be 
drilled, that if we have this type of tax credit, this credit would be 
phased out as the price of oil increases, starting at $18.50 a barrel. 
But it is clear, Mr. President, that this activity is not being done 
now. No wells in this deep water are being drilled. No jobs are being 
created. Mr. President, this is not something that affects only Texas 
or Louisiana or the gulf coast or the coast of California or the 
Northeast. The jobs in this technology that is used in these efforts 
are jobs that are being created all over the United States. Electronic 
equipment, computers, and very sophisticated equipment are being 
developed in all 50 States that would be used in this effort.
  So my tax credit for deep water oil and gas production would be an 
incentive to create jobs all over America. It would encourage wells to 
be drilled in areas that are not being drilled now at all because of 
the price. We recognize that we should not be giving any kind of a 
windfall. So my tax credit is based on the price of oil. As the price 
increases gradually through the marketplace, our tax credit would 
decrease.
  Mr. President, my purpose today is to explain that we had a large 
number of good ideas presented. Some of them were tax incentives. Some 
of them were regulatory incentives. Some of them were things the 
administration can do without any action by the Congress.
  I just want to say that I think this administration is taking these 
suggestions and ideas very seriously. The President has promised that 
he will review them further and have the members of his Cabinet look at 
these recommendations and, hopefully, will be in a position to 
favorably support the recommendations of the organizations.
  Our colleague, Senator Boren, helped put this meeting together. I 
assure you that the enthusiasm that was in that room was very profound 
and, I think, had a very positive impact on the administration. I want 
to publicly thank them for the courtesies and the interest that they 
showed in helping us in this effort to really save an industry that is 
important to our national security and the national defense and 
economic strength of this Nation.
  Mr. President, I yield the time that I had been allotted.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kerrey). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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