[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 144 (Thursday, November 3, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9608-H9609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENERGY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, middle-class families across this Nation
are struggling to make ends meet. While housing and education prices
are skyrocketing, wages have been held stagnant for the last 3 years.
Now families can add energy to the list of out-of-control costs to
their family budget.
Gas is around 3 bucks a gallon. Utilities are now predicting families
could pay as much as 70 percent more to heat their homes this winter.
Natural gas prices are so high the Energy Department is predicting the
average family will pay $350 more this winter than last winter. Home
heating oil, used by many in the Northeast and Midwest, is
skyrocketing.
But while American families struggle with sky-high energy bills, oil
and gas companies face a totally different problem: too much cash. For
example, Exxon Mobil recently reported their profits increased by 75
percent. Their revenues: $100 billion. Shell Oil, earnings 68 percent
up. Phillips, 89 percent up. B.P. Amoco, 34 percent rise in quarterly
earnings.
American families are struggling with massive energy bills that cut
into their living expenses, their college costs, and their health care
costs, while energy companies are reaping huge, huge profits.
Henry Hubble, a senior vice president at Exxon Mobil said, ``You have
got to let the marketplace work.'' I agree with the executive from
Exxon Mobil. Let the marketplace work.
But here is where we disagree. When they had an energy bill down on
this floor, the oil companies got a $14 billion taxpayer-funded
corporate welfare giveaway to do oil and gas drilling around this
country. They got $14 billion for companies making record profits.
That is what we call corporate welfare. If they want the marketplace
to work, give the taxpayers back their $14 billion. We should be not be
subsidizing their business plans. Taxpayers are not in the business of
helping companies making revenue runs at $100 billion a quarter where
profits are up 89 percent.
The Congress, not Democrats but the Republicans in Congress, are
cutting college loans by $14 billion, they are cutting nutritional
programs for 40,000 kids, and they are cutting kids health care. Yet
what have they held sacrosanct? $14 billion to Exxon Mobil. My view is
what corporate America needs in the energy business is a little free
market medicine.
We have seen nothing but corporate welfare around here in subsidizing
the energy industry, and it is high time they get off the dole and
started running their own business plan and stop asking the taxpayers
to fund them. The only reason they do that around here is because,
since 1980, the big oil companies have contributed $220 million to the
Republican candidates for Congress, Senate, the Presidency, and their
party. They have gotten a $14 billion return. You cannot get an
investment return like that on Wall Street. It is 200 percent on their
investment that they have gotten.
This Congress has given big oil $14 billion in tax subsidies. If that
is not bad enough, there is a refinery bill where we ended up giving
them another $2 billion that they did not even ask for. So with oil
running at basically $3 a gallon at the gas pump, not only do consumers
have to pay inflated prices to big oil at the gas pump, but on April 15
they get a bill because they have given them $14 billion in taxpayer-
funded corporate welfare so they can do one thing: execute their
business plans.
Well, I am suggesting they start doing a little more free enterprise
in executing their business plans and stop relying on the taxpayers of
America, who are struggling with sky-high energy prices, sky-high
health care costs, and sky-high college tuition costs, just trying to
struggle to make ends meet.
What Congress would actually cut home heating assistance to our most
needy citizens yet give Exxon Mobil and the other big energy companies
$16 million? A Republican Congress, but, of course, this should make
sense to all of us who have seen what goes on around here.
When the Speaker's gavel comes down, that gavel is intended to open
the people's House, not the auction house. What has happened around
here lately when it comes to big oil companies is we auction off the
American people and their future. When it comes to the pharmaceutical
companies, who gave $132 million, they ended up with $135 billion in
additional profit when
[[Page H9609]]
we did the prescription drug bill. When we had a $5 billion problem to
fix with Europe on the corporate trade tax issue, what did this
Republican Congress do? Of course, $150 billion tax giveaway to
corporate America to solve a $5 billion problem. Only using their type
of math do you work like that.
Pharmaceutical companies. Big oil companies. Corporate special
interests. Selling away America. The Speaker's gavel is intended to
open the people's House, not the auction house, and the United States
Congress had better start acting like the people's House, because
lately we are giving Christie's a run for its money around here.
You cannot give out money fast enough to the energy companies, who
are making massive profits, and on the other hand cut those who are
most needy. You cannot have a policy in the country that says to oil
companies, who are reaping huge profits, and that is their business,
but we should not subsidize their business, we are going to give you
more while cutting those who are struggling. These are not the values
of this country, these are not the values of the Democratic party, and,
thank God, they are not the values of the American people.
We need a change. We need new priorities that focus on America's
future. We can do better, and it is high time we turn the people's
House back to the American people.
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