[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     OPPOSED TO SENATE      AMENDMENT 87

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                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 1994

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to Senate 
Amendment 87.
  The Senate language to block EPA from implementing its reformulated 
gas regulations is a bad policy.
  Accepting the Senate provision will have a devastating impact on our 
Nation. The pending rule is simply meant to subject foreign refiners to 
the same environmental standards as domestic refiners. This issue boils 
down to efforts by the U.S. domestic refiners to gain the competitive 
edge in market share over the domestic independents, who rely on 
imported oil for their product.
  Allowing the EPA to proceed with its reformulated gas rules will have 
no environmental impact. The domestic refining industry stipulates that 
Venezuelan and other foreign oil is dirtier than United States 
gasoline. This simply is not the case.
  Take olefin content for example. The fact is that on olefin, just one 
of many polluting compounds in gasoline, Venezuelan gasoline is 
comparable to gas being marketed by many of our own domestic refiners.
  Just yesterday, the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association released 
its National Fuel Survey, indicating that Venezuelan oil fared better 
on olefin content, 22 percent in 1990, than many domestic refiners, 
like Mobile Oil in New York City, 26 percent; and Getty, nearly 25 
percent and Texaco, nearly 24 percent in Philadelphia. A little known 
fact is that Venezuelan gasoline is actually superior on air standards 
for benzene and aromatics.
  The Senate language will create serious problems for consumers, 
especially citizens in Northeastern States that count on imported 
gasoline for as much as 30 percent of their energy needs. Nationwide, 
we rely on gasoline imports for 3 to 5 percent of domestic consumption 
each day. The dislocation of imported fuel could potentially raise the 
price of gasoline 15 to 22 cents per gallon. This will have a 
dismantling effect on the New England economy, increase inflationary 
pressures, and will inflict supply shortages throughout the Northeast 
and the Nation as a whole.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a matter of fairness and energy security for our 
citizens--merely treating domestic importers with the same 
environmental standards for reformulated gasoline under the Clean Air 
Act as domestic refiners.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to insist on the House position--to 
ensure that both domestic and imported environmentally sound gasoline 
can serve our citizens.

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