[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 66 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2748-H2751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE 30-SOMETHING WORKING GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, it's an honor for the 30-
Something Working Group to come to the floor once again. As you know, 
I'm a proud Member of the ``Something'' part of that 30-Something.
  I yield to my colleague from the great State of Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Altmire).
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Madam Speaker, I know that the gentleman from Florida, 
and I appreciate his yielding, is going to spend the bulk of his time 
here on the 30-Something Working Group talking about gas prices and the 
increase that we have seen and some things that this Congress has done 
to address the issue.
  And I wanted to talk a little bit about the energy bill that we 
passed last year and the debate that took place along the way, one of 
which was what we should do about these taxpayer subsidies, $14 
billion, that we're giving to the big oil companies at a time when 
they're making all-time record profits, your money and mine, taxpayer 
subsidies.
  And it's clear that with oil at $117 a barrel and rising that 
ExxonMobil does not need taxpayer subsidies. They're going to make 
their money. They're doing quite well. They just set the all-time 
record for profit in one quarter in the history of American business. 
So there is no need for them to have that subsidy, and the majority of 
this House overwhelmingly agreed. Last year not once but twice, we 
passed legislation out of this House, in 2007, sent it over to the 
Senate, that would say that we are going to redirect every penny of 
that $14 billion away from the big oil companies and into research and 
development on alternative sources of energy, alternative fuels. And 
what we sent over to the Senate was legislation that had bipartisan 
support in this House.
  Now, we sent it over to the Senate, and, unfortunately, as the 
gentleman from Florida knows, the rules in the Senate are different 
than the rules of the House. So they have to have 60 votes to bring a 
bill to the floor, and they didn't have the 60 votes to bring it to the 
floor, but they had enough to pass the bill. But the point of this is 
we in this House took affirmative action, not once but twice, to find 
alternative sources of energy, to create a national commitment, and to 
provide the funding that's necessary for R and D on alternative sources 
of energy.
  But that's not all that this House has done. Today the leadership of 
the House called on President Bush to stop filling the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. Now, that's something that I sent a letter to 
President Bush about last month and something that would save from the 
price of gas between 4 and 24 cents. Now, that's not going to make the 
difference. When gas is at $3.55 a gallon, 24 cents may not seem like a 
lot. But at least it's an affirmative step in the right direction that 
we need to recognize, A, that we do have the responsibility in this 
country to do

[[Page H2749]]

everything that we possibly can to relieve the burden on individuals, 
families, and businesses in this country and that burden that has been 
brought upon them by the incredible increase in gas prices. And what 
that is going to do is, for the temporary time being, lower costs a 
little bit, which is going to make a difference for families in this 
country. It's not going to solve the problem. It's certainly not a 
long-term solution. But it's something that we all can agree on in this 
Congress is a necessary step to suspend shipments into the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. That's something that President Bush has not joined 
us in yet, but I'm hopeful that we will be able to work together and 
find solutions to the problem.
  Now, we, last year this Congress, passed a number of other pieces of 
legislation dealing specifically with rising gas prices, trying to head 
them off. We voted to hold OPEC accountable for oil price fixing. It 
passed this House 345-72, overwhelming bipartisan support. It faces the 
threat of a veto on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. We voted to 
crack down on gas price gouging. That passed 284-141, overwhelmingly 
bipartisan; yet the President, again, has threatened to veto that 
legislation. As I talked about, we voted to repeal the subsidies of the 
big oil companies at a time when they're making all-time record profits 
and redirect every penny into alternative sources of energy. 
Unfortunately, that faced a veto threat, and we were unable to get it 
through the Senate.
  But what did become law, and at this point I would turn it over to 
the gentleman from Florida, was our new energy independence law, which, 
for the first time in 30 years, increased the cafe standards, the 
miles-per-gallon average that we see in our cars that are made in this 
country, for the first time in 30 years, from an average of 24 miles 
per gallon to an average of 35 miles per gallon. That by itself, when 
it's fully phased in, is going to save the average individual in this 
country about $1,000 a year on their fuel bill. That is real reform, 
and that is something that this House did, working with the Senate. We 
sent it to the President. He signed it. And that's something that we 
can definitely look forward to in the future. Now, again, that is not 
by itself going to lower the price of gas. The Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve shipments that we are talking about is going to have an impact 
but not a long-term impact. The only thing that we can do to solve this 
problem in the long term is to get ourselves off of oil. That's what 
this should be about. And we do have a healthy debate in this House and 
among our colleagues on how to achieve that.
  There are some folks who believe that the issue is entirely supply 
and that we should spend our money at the Federal level in ways that 
will further our dependence on foreign oil. Build more refineries, 
drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, drill off the coast of 
Mr. Meek's Florida, drill in the Outer Continental Shelf, that is one 
school of thought. And those are folks in this House that have the 
intent to bring down gas prices. They definitely have good thoughts in 
mind on that.

                              {time}  1715

  We just have a very strong disagreement. We don't question their 
motives. We just believe there's a better way. That is to use every 
penny that we spend in this country, whatever dollar amount that may 
be, on alternative energy. Whatever we determine to spend, spend it all 
in getting us off of oil. Don't spend one penny in furthering our 
dependence on oil because that is not going to solve the problem in the 
short-term and certainly not in the long-term.
  So that is the difference of opinion that exists, should we invest in 
research and development and finding an alternative source of energy, 
getting us off of oil, or should we invest on the supply side for today 
in a way that is going to further and even deepen our dependence on 
oil. That is the debate that exists in this House.
  So at that point I would thank the gentleman from Florida for his 
strong leadership on this issue, for allowing me the time to speak, and 
I would turn the time over to Mr. Meek from Florida.
  Mr. MEEK. Thank you, Mr. Altmire. I want to thank you so very much 
for coming to the floor. You have to run back and do the work for your 
constituents back in your district.
  Madam Speaker, I am going to do an abbreviated 30-Something today. 
Last night, we were on the floor talking about a letter that our 
friends on the other side, Republican colleagues, wrote to Speaker 
Pelosi. It was just, based on the information that I received from the 
letter and some of the reading that I have done and the research that 
we have done here on the 30-Something Working Group, I just had to come 
back today to finish making the point. So I think it's important, since 
the letter from the Republican leadership is talking about how we need 
to work together in a bipartisan way.
  Madam Speaker, I know that you have heard me before say that 
bipartisanship is only achieved when the majority allows it. I have 
said that in the two previous Congresses, hoping that Republican 
leadership will work with the Democratic minority at that time to 
achieve this bipartisanship. We have worked time after time here on 
this side of the aisle to make sure that we can include Republicans and 
all Members of the House in good legislation.
  The legislation dealing with price gouging on the military contract 
that was on the floor yesterday; unanimous vote. Never would have made 
it if it wasn't for the Democratic leadership allowing it to come to 
the floor. That bill would have never seen the light of day, leave 
alone the crack under the door, if we were under the Republican 
leadership that we used to be. But I am so glad that the American 
people found it fit to make sure that we allow Democrats to be in 
charge of this House so that those kinds of pieces of legislation were 
able to get to the floor.
  As you know, Madam Speaker and Members, I always remind the Members 
of the daily report on what's going on in Iraq. We had a lot of chest 
beating going on in this chamber for about 4 or 5 years of who loves 
the troops, who supports the troops, and all of this and all of that 
and going back and forth. I have a tattoo on my arm saying I support 
the troops. That is not what they are looking for.
  But I think it's very, very important that the Members realize as we 
end our legislative business for this week and as we start our 
legislative business for next week and as we go home to talk to our 
constituents this weekend, I think it's important for us to reflect on 
the real reality of what is going on with so many military families' 
communities.
  As of today, April 24, we have the total number of deaths out of 
Iraq, 4,046; the total number of wounded in action and returned to 
duty, 16,520; and the total number of wounded in action, not returning 
to duty, is reported at 13,309. That number could have gone up since we 
last checked. But I think that it's important that we continue to put 
that into the Record so that people can reflect on our efforts in 
trying to draw down our troops in Iraq but making sure the necessary 
personnel stays there, a very small number, not 142,000 that is there 
now, and above.
  I want to, Madam Speaker, pick up where I left off last evening. I 
think it's important because there was some action on the floor 
yesterday and I didn't want any of the Members to get confused when 
they go back to their district saying, Well, I voted on a motion to 
recommit, which, as we know, which is a procedural motion here on the 
floor, that really didn't make a lot of sense and really was 
counterproductive versus productive. We had a debate here, and it's 
nothing wrong with that because we can go back and forth. But let's go 
back and forth on fact and not fiction.
  What I did not have last night, Madam Speaker and Members, what I 
have right now is the actual letter that went to the Speaker from the 
Republican leadership on this very issue. But I had to go further and 
we had to make sure that not only we had the letter that went to the 
Speaker and read that letter and the full text. I can contest to two 
pages. You have all of the Republican leadership that is elected. I 
won't call any names out. You know who they are.
  They wrote this letter to the Speaker and in this letter it talks 
about how 2 years ago this week you stated that House Democrats had a 
commonsense

[[Page H2750]]

plan to lower gas prices. In light of skyrocketing gas prices affecting 
the working families, and it goes on, the public sector, and it says to 
date the national average stands at $3.51 a gallon, and according to 
AAA, it's $1.18 higher than it was before the 110th Congress started. 
Then it goes on to say, More than 50 percent increase. It goes on and 
on and on. And, once a nightmare scenario, $4 a gallon is now very real 
and possibly becoming reality in the summer. Now let me just say this. 
I also owe credit to the Republican leadership. They said, We are 
looking forward to working toward a commonsense plan.
  Well, that's the letter. In the release, Madam Speaker, they go on to 
say, using words like, House Republicans stand ready to work with 
Democratic colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to address America's 
energy prices. Another line I want to take out, And in light of 
skyrocketing gas prices affecting working families in an economy that 
is struggling, we stand ready to assist.
  Now I just wanted to read that and I just want to point to what the 
facts are. Now I can go back to my office and write a letter that I 
feel good about, even if I didn't want to fact check it. I can go and 
say, Well, let me see; let me write a letter that makes me feel good as 
an individual. Well, I mean that is fine if I am writing it to a friend 
of mine that I went to college with and we are going back and forth 
about our different opinions on politics or whatever the case may be.
  But when you're a part of the leadership of the United States 
Congress and you write a letter to the Speaker to make a point on the 
floor on a motion to recommit to say I wrote you, and have the Members 
here thinking goodness, am I voting the right way or the wrong way, 
when the evidence in your voting record doesn't stand towards what you 
said you want to do, or that you would like to do if you have the 
opportunity to do it.
  Yes, gas prices are high. I said last night that many of my friends 
on the other side of the aisle, they are real people the too. They have 
to put gas in their tanks too. They have constituents that are sitting 
there trying to figure out, playing what I call the gas pump game, 
trying to stop at $10 and make it to work, and you have a little bit 
over, 2, 2\1/2\ gallons, maybe 3, if you're lucky. I know those 
individuals. I know what it means to sit at the dining room table, 
trying to figure out what you're going to pay and what you can't pay 
because the gas price has gone up, you have children, you have bills to 
pay, leave alone trying to pay for college.
  Let me just make this quick point. I didn't have this last night, 
Madam Speaker, but thanks to the 30-Something Working Group and the 
people that support us, they blew this up for me because I wanted to 
make the point a little clearer because I like to break this thing down 
so all the Members know exactly what is going on.
  Now I would say that the folks that assist us in getting together, 
they went a little further, making sure we had the names and signatures 
on the letter. I like to cover those names and signatures because I can 
tell you at the 30-Something Working Group we never individually 
pointed any Member of Congress out as it relates to what we disagree 
with them. So I want to continue with that philosophy as part of the 
leadership of the 30-Something Working Group. But I just want to make 
this point.
  Now this goes down the Republican leadership. You can read the 
letter, and you can probably get the letter somehow under all of this 
transparency we see now, especially for the Members, and if the Members 
want to get a copy from me, I will be more than happy to supply you 
with it if you were unaware your leadership wrote this letter.
  We had a piece of legislation that Mr. Altmire talked about on the no 
oil producing and exploitation cartels. That is H.R. 2264. This 
legislation enables the Department of Justice to take action against 
OPEC-controlled entities for participating in oil cartels that drive up 
the price of oil globally and in the United States.
  I am just going to point to right here. It goes from the top of the 
power, down to the bottom, voted no. That is no. Second in control 
voted no. The fifth in control voted no. Going all the way down, they 
all voted no against that.
  Now that is something to give our Department of Justice the teeth it 
needs to go after those individuals that are not holding the interests 
of the American people, and they are holding greed. They voted no on 
it. I don't understand it because I want to make sure when individuals 
come to this floor, and it's a legitimate argument, I don't have any 
issues with it. But I want to make sure that the Members know if you're 
going to come to the floor, come right. If you're going to come right, 
make sure that you're not trying to fake anybody out. Because 30-
Something Working Group is going to be on the floor and we are going to 
set the record straight. I just want to make sure that folks understand 
that this is serious business, because my constituents are paying too 
much for gas and we are up here trying to do something about it.
  The Energy Price Gouging Act, H.R. 1252. This legislation empowers 
the Federal Trade Commission and gives it the authority to investigate 
and punish those who artificially inflate energy prices. Again, this is 
the Democratic Congress, just exactly as the Speaker said that we would 
do to drive gas prices down. What happened on that second piece of 
legislation? No. Second in control, no. Third person in control of the 
Republican conference, no. Fifth person, no. No, no, no. And they all 
signed the letter talking about what are you going to do about gas 
prices.
  I just want to make sure that this is serious. Renewable Energy and 
Energy Conservation Act, a tax act of 2008, that is H.R. 5351. This 
bill will end unnecessary subsidies to big oil companies and invest in 
clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency. It also expands tax 
incentives for renewable energy programs.
  I tell you, we want through for clean sweep on that one because that 
was taking money out of the pockets of those that have made record 
profits worldwide. Clean sweep here, folks. I am going to say Members. 
Clean sweep. I just want to make sure. From the top, all the way to the 
bottom, no. I guess that was the ultimate insult to those that had been 
celebrating the protection of the Republican Congress for so many 
years, and now the Democratic Congress is now elected and we are doing 
what we said we would do if we had the opportunity to do it.
  Now we are going green instead of going into profit making for big 
oil companies. The protection is no longer there. I have no problem 
with Mobil or any of them out there. I don't have any problem with 
them. I mean they are businesses, and I don't think that profits are a 
bad word.

                              {time}  1730

  But when you have the former Congress in the front seat protecting 
and have your back versus the American people, I got a problem with 
that. And so I think that it is important, and that is the reason why I 
came back here today on this last day of our legislative business to 
point this out.
  Clean sweep. Clean sweep. Every last one of the Republican leadership 
voted no against that legislation. And I am going to make a point on 
that piece that I am going to point out this last vote. But I am going 
to make a point on why this clean sweep did not make sense as it 
relates to the policy of the vote that took place from the entire 
Republican leadership.
  The market manipulation provision in the Energy Independence and 
Security Act of 2007. It goes on that it was signed into law in 
December, and this deals with the wholesale price of gasoline and 
petroleum, and required the Federal Trade Commission to enforce and 
punish those. Again, that is part of the market manipulation scheme.
  The top voted no, and next two in charge I assume voted yes. And then 
the rest voted no, all the way going down to the bottom of the 
Republican leadership that voted yes. So we have six of the Republican 
leadership voting no, and we had three of the Republican leadership 
voting yes.
  I said all of that to say that if we are going to sign a letter, you 
have got to fact check your own voting record if you are going to try 
to make a statement and put a press release out to the media to say 
that we are pushing them. It may look good on the website, but you 
don't want to put this on your website, because it doesn't speak toward 
the words.

[[Page H2751]]

  Now I am going to tell you the reason why. Where is that chart? I 
need my chart on how many leases that are out there and what has 
happened.
  Madam Speaker, we love charts here in the 30-Something Working Group. 
This is what we do.
  This chart here shows how many leases that are out there and how many 
wells that are actually out there. On the red part is actually the 
leases. And you can see from 1994, here are the leases. These are the 
actual wells that are out there.
  Well, under the Republican leadership of the previous Congress and 
the one before that, those are the ones I can attest for, because I was 
here. They did all they could to continue as many leases as they could. 
You know, we want to give it. If big oil wanted it, they can get it. It 
was an open door policy. Whatever you guys want, we want to take care 
of it.
  I have another chart to talk about, the 2001 meeting that took place 
in Vice President Dick Cheney's office, this energy conference that 
took place and how it took off for big oil and how it went against the 
American people.
  But as you start looking at the drilling leases now, you see all the 
leases that are there and we see all of the wells that have been 
drilled and we see gas prices going up. So to say more leases, more 
drilling is better, it doesn't speak to that. That was the old 
strategy, Madam Speaker and Members, that the Republican leadership 
used to take. Give them what they asked for and gas prices will go 
down.
  Well, that has not worked. So for the pot trying to call the kettle 
black, or saying Democrats have been doing something bad or something 
like that, or you haven't done anything, you can't forget that the 
President of the United States is a Republican too and has been a part 
of what the American people are experiencing.
  Now, let me just share this with you. I had this chart last night, 
but I want to bring it out again because some of the Members might not 
have been up last night at 10 p.m. I was.
  May 16th of 2001. You heard me refer to the White House energy plan 
that was submitted. This is Mr. Cheney's task force. They were meeting. 
And I believe also this is a quote. ``If you look at future prices with 
respect to gasoline, they will appear to be headed down.'' This what 
was said out of the White House at that particular time. But you can 
see it had a reverse effect on what the American people were told at 
that time. Gas prices continued, as you see the goal here, to go up.
  Here is the meaning of the meeting here, I believe somewhere around 
June of 2005, of course, our leader with the Saudi Arabian king there, 
trying to build relations hopefully that we were all hoping would drive 
gas prices down. But as you can see, they continued to go up, and oil 
sets a new record above $119 a barrel and the retail gas raises to the 
national average of $3.51. Some people may say, where are you buying 
that gas, because that is cheap. That is an AP report of 4-22-08.
  I think it is important that we look at this chart. I hope that we 
can put this chart on our 30-Something Working Group website. It is not 
there yet, I don't think, but we will get it on there. Hopefully by the 
end of this week we will have it up, if Members want to pull that down 
and take a look at it.

  Now, again, I am stating the obvious. January 22nd, 2001, $1.47; 
today, $3.53. That is as of 4-23-08. So we know that is today where we 
are on the gas price. And that source is AAA. Can we put that on our 
website, too? That would be very helpful.
  I think what else is important, Madam Speaker, as I start to come in 
here for a landing here, the average price per gallon of fuel paid by 
the U.S. military units in Iraq is $3.23 a gallon. That is how much 
they are paying. That is an AP fact from the Associated Press. That is 
4-22-08. Then it goes on, the price per gallon of gasoline for Iraqi 
residents is $1.36, and that is the AP on the same date, on 4-22-08.
  Let me just finish with two other points here. The cost for fuel the 
U.S. military consumes per month is $153 million, and oil revenues that 
the Iraqi government is expected to take in this year is $70 billion.
  Now, this leads to another point. If I had enough time I would make 
it, but I am going to cut my 30-something piece short today, because if 
I was to start talking about the Iraqi government, and that is the 
whole failure of the whole piece, what they are not doing to assist us. 
Because when you look at it, I think the U.S. military should be paying 
the price that Iraqis are paying.
  Since we are over there carrying out this great deed, why are we 
spending $3.23 a gallon? I don't know why. And when we have just 
average Iraqis that are not taking the incoming that our troops are 
taking--they are paying a price, the Iraqi civilians, I must add--but 
the individuals that have to go out there on that midnight shift to 
protect the streets of Iraq are paying $3.23. I mean, we are just in 
the business of making sure that Americans pay more than anyone else.
  So I am just going to put it that way. I just want to lay that out. 
Maybe somebody at the White House may hear me and may call somebody 
over in the parliament over in Iraq, if they are meeting, if they even 
have a quorum, to be able to deal with that issue.
  This issue as it relates to gas is something that is very personal to 
many Americans. Again, I just want to make sure that the record was set 
straight on the Congressional Record as it relates to what Democrats 
have done to bring down gas prices. But, of course, we do not have the 
presidency of the United States, not as of yet, to be able to fulfill 
the total reality of how do we move towards alternative fuels, how do 
we go greener, even greening the Capitol.
  Madam Speaker and Members, when I come back to the floor next week, I 
believe it will be Wednesday, I want to talk about the initiatives that 
we have going on right here in this Capitol, all the way down. I just 
wrote an article for one of the local publications here in Washington, 
D.C. talking about what we are doing.
  Think about it. Greening the Capitol was not even a discussion until 
we, and when I say ``we,'' the Democrats took control of the House, 
empowered by the American people. I will talk about that, and I will 
maybe enter it into the Congressional Record so it will be there to 
highlight exactly what the House Administration Committee and other 
committees that the Speaker has appointed to deal with this very issue 
are doing.
  But, in closing, if you are going to send a letter to the Speaker, 
the Republican leadership, if you are going to send a letter to the 
Speaker, make sure you fact check your own letter. That is the message 
of today. And if you don't fact check it, I guarantee you that those of 
us that are in the Capitol will find the time to do it, especially on 
an issue that hits such a chord with so many Americans.
  So, let's try to vote together. Let's try to work together. Let's try 
to resolve the problems of everyday Americans as it relates to the 
economy, as it relates to health care, as it relates to what is going 
on in Iraq together. Let's not stand in the schoolhouse door and then, 
you know, write a letter and say, oh, well, we don't know what you guys 
are doing. We would love to be a part of it. I don't know why you are 
sitting on your hands. You said 2 years ago you would do something. You 
haven't done it as of yet, as though we are working hand-in-hand. When 
I say ``we,'' I am talking about the Republican leadership, and making 
sure that we achieve that.
  Madam Speaker, with that, it is always an honor coming before the 
House. It is always good bringing this great information. I would like 
to thank the working members of the 30-Something Working Group and our 
staff.

                          ____________________