[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 6, ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the last time Congress 
enacted an energy bill was in 1992--13 years ago. Since that time, 
Republicans and Democrats alike have made clear that as a part of our 
national homeland security strategy, we must wean the country off of 
foreign oil. Yet, the bill before us would not achieve that goal. For 
that reason Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  There is no doubt that the final House-Senate energy bill is vastly 
better than the House-passed bill. It extends the renewable electricity 
production tax credit and provides tax credits for energy efficiency, 
which, together, will catalyze investment and usage of the next 
generation of energy technology. It also would re-fund the Oil Spill 
Liability Trust Fund, which provided $42 million to clean-up the 
Delaware River after the November 2004 oil spill and was on track to be 
depleted by 2009. I hope no other region in the country experiences a 
similar incident; we must be prepared to adequately respond if it does.
  Additionally, the bill does not include unnecessary liability 
protections for the manufacturers of the gasoline additive known as 
MTBE or allow for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--
authorities that would have put our precious natural resources at-risk 
while doing very little to reduce our dependence on imported oil.
  While I am pleased with these improvements in the bill, I do not 
support investing $14.6 billion in taxpayer funding on energy policies 
that ultimately will not reduce our dependence on and usage of foreign 
oil over the next 11 years.
  My colleagues, the bill fails to include a renewable energy portfolio 
standard of 10 percent by 2020.
  It fails to adequately invest in renewable energy and energy 
efficiency technologies by only providing 26 percent of the bill's tax 
incentives for the development of cleaner, less expensive energy 
sources under our control; while allocating $2.6 billion in tax 
benefits for oil and gas industry. Industries that are already 
profiting from record high oil prices, which are currently over $60 per 
barrel.
  It fails to increase to automotive efficiency standards--a policy 
that would save up to 67 billion barrels of oil over the next 40 years, 
which is 10 to 20 times greater than the potential oil supply that 
could be extracted from the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill fails to send us in a new direction, and that 
is unacceptable. We cannot leave ourselves positioned to return years 
from now and still be searching for ways to end our reliance on foreign 
oil.
  With nations like India and China rapidly increasing their 
consumption of oil we must set the nation on a course to energy 
independence. That requires a balanced energy policy that aids domestic 
production but, more importantly, sends us in a new direction by 
investing in renewable and energy efficient technologies. This 
conference report failed to accomplish this goal.
  I urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 6.

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