[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 73 (Friday, June 9, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1106]]
                  REFINERY PERMIT PROCESS SCHEDULE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2006

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5254, the 
Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act. This bill would endanger the 
environment and the health of communities across America in order to 
provide another giveaway to the oil and gas industry which is reaping 
record profits.
  The oil industry is responsible for limiting refinery capacity. 
During the 1990s, the American Petroleum Institute encouraged the oil 
industry to limit refining capacity in order to boost profits. The 
industry followed instructions, closing 176 refineries since 1980 and 
failing to fully utilize available capacity. According to the 
Washington Post, between September 2004 and 2005, refineries marked up 
their prices 255 percent while gasoline retailers only marked up their 
prices by 5 percent. The five largest oil companies, many of which own 
refineries, reported record profits of $110 billion in 2005. ExxonMobil 
reported the largest annual profit of an American company in history.
  Environmental regulations are not standing in the way of new 
refineries being opened. The CEOs of Shell and ConocoPhillips have 
testified that no Federal or State regulations had prevented them from 
siting new refineries. Only one energy company, Arizona Clean Fuels, 
has filed a permit to open a new refinery in over 20 years. When 
Arizona Clear Fuels was granted that permit, the company never actually 
opened the refinery. Its inability to find investors, not environmental 
regulations, prevented the company from opening a refinery.
  After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, refinery outages caused a supply 
shock that was in part responsible for a rise in gasoline prices. The 
Democrats, under the leadership of Representatives Dingell, Stupak and 
Boucher, proposed the creation of a strategic refinery reserve which 
would ensure that the U.S. had an adequate supply of refined product in 
case of national emergency. Republicans have repeatedly rejected 
Democrats' efforts to create that reserve, which would put the 
interests of consumers before the profits of the oil industry. 
Republicans have also rejected an attempt by Ranking Member Dingell and 
Energy and Commerce Democrats to make this legislation bipartisan.
  This bill is another giveaway to the oil and gas industry that could 
impose refineries on communities throughout the country. It requires 
President Bush to designate three closed military bases as sites for 
new refineries, waiving local and State regulations and giving 
communities little input in the process. It allows Secretary Rumsfeld 
to sell or transfer the land to an oil company at no cost. Congress 
should know by now that billions of dollars in giveaway to the oil and 
gas industry has only led to record profits and record energy prices.
  This bill again demonstrates the misplaced priorities of this 
Republican Congress. While my constituents are paying $2.96 for a 
gallon of regular gas in Chicago, we are considering legislation that 
would do nothing to bring down gasoline prices. Nothing in this 
legislation forces oil companies to utilize all of their available 
refining capacity, nor does it protect our supply in the case of a 
national emergency. This bill will lead to higher profits in the 
boardroom and more pain at the pump.

                          ____________________