[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15444-H15445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE NON-ENERGY BILL

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, this winter it's going to be cold in the 
Northeast. Home heating oil is needed for those who want to keep warm 
in the northern States. Gasoline prices continue to rise above $3 a 
gallon, and crude oil may go to $100 a barrel. So what does the House 
of Representatives do? Makes it more expensive for American oil 
companies to do business in America. How so? The non-energy bill that 
passed this House contains a $21 billion tax increase on the production 
of oil and natural gas in America. That tax will be passed on to the 
consumer in the higher prices of energy.
  The bill doesn't open up new sources of exploration off our coast or 
in ANWR. Now, only Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama allow 
drilling off the coast. You see, States like California, Florida, and 
northeastern States don't want drilling off their coast but they don't 
have a problem with consuming the crude oil from States that allow 
offshore drilling. This bill punishes oil-producing States like my home 
State of Texas. The Wall

[[Page H15445]]

Street Journal stated, In this bill, the biggest winner is OPEC. So, 
Mr. Speaker, maybe to survive, Texas and the other oil-producing States 
should just join OPEC and get a better deal on our crude oil.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________