[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E217-E218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PROTECTING INVESTMENT IN OIL SHALE THE NEXT GENERATION OF 
            ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND RESOURCE SECURITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 15, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration in the bill (H.R. 3408) to 
     set clear rules for the development of United States oil 
     shale resources, to promote shale technology research and 
     development, and for other purposes:

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3408, the so-
called ``PIONEERS Act.'' The Republican majority is bringing this bill 
to the floor under a procedural charade that has us voting on three 
separate bills that will magically become a transportation bill at some

[[Page E218]]

point in the future when the Speaker is able to twist enough arms to 
pass the other pieces.
  An obvious question to ask about H.R. 3408 is: what does it have to 
do with transportation? Not much. Although this bill is a grab bag of 
goodies for the oil and gas industry, it will do virtually nothing to 
repair our crumbling roads and bridges.
  The legislation requires drilling off the coast of Southern 
California and overrides current law to forbid the State of California 
from haying any input into where, when, and how the drilling will 
occur. So much for states' rights. In their drive to hand out drilling 
leases to oil companies, Republicans are preventing my constituents in 
California from having any say on an issue that could have profound 
consequences on our state's economy and environment.
  In the unlikely event that this bill becomes law, the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge would be opened to oil drilling and the Keystone XL tar 
sands pipeline will be approved despite the fact that the President 
found the pipeline is not in the national interest. This legislation 
also mandates oil shale production on millions of acres of taxpayer 
owned lands in the West without environmental review. Producing oil 
from oil shale is an unproven process that requires massive amounts of 
water and energy and produces equally massive amounts of waste. That's 
why the Obama Administration continues to study the process and conduct 
research and development on the feasibility of oil shale extraction 
prior to opening up federal lands. Instead of following this reasonable 
approach, Republicans are ignoring science and pushing ahead.
  Republican leaders claim that all of this new drilling might raise 
some money in the future that can then pay for transportation projects. 
Instead of relying on fictional revenues, we could simply end the $4 
billion in yearly tax subsidies that the big oil companies enjoy. These 
companies raked in $137 billion in profits last year, yet taxpayers are 
still forced to subsidize them. Let's end those handouts to pay for 
transportation projects not provide yet more giveaways to the oil 
industry.
  I urge all my colleagues to vote against this dirty energy bill.

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