[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H4687-H4688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CELEBRATING MEMORIAL DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, next Monday is Memorial Day, one of the 
most solemn holidays in America. We remember those who gave their lives 
in ultimate sacrifice to our country, those who were wounded, those who 
are veterans, and those who are still serving our country in dangerous 
occupations around the world to defend our freedoms.
  This is a day that should be solemnly celebrated, and it will be in 
many places. It could be better solemnly celebrated if the United 
States Congress would exert a little more oversight and get a little 
more funding to the VA, so that we don't have veterans dying on waiting 
lists. We have got to get to the bottom of that scandal, and we have 
got to adequately fund that agency and give them permanent funding.
  Beyond that, there is another group in America who have a very 
special Memorial Day celebration every year, and that is the United 
States oil industry. They are, of course, very patriotic. They don't 
pay much in taxes in the U.S. They have over $100 billion stashed 
overseas because they don't want to pay U.S. taxes, even though they 
pay a higher rate many places overseas.
  They are very patriotic, and so every year, they have a special 
celebration where they run up the price.
  Now, the oil companies and their handmaidens on the Republican side 
of the aisle will say: It is all about shortage. All we need is to 
drill in sensitive areas offshore. All we need to do is build the XL 
pipeline, and your prices will come down.
  Well, that is pretty amazing except, of course, it is a huge lie. 
Today, the United States of America will export more than 450,000 
barrels of gasoline, while they are running the price up on Americans, 
saying: Hey, don't you know there is a shortage?
  Funny thing, I haven't seen any little red flags or yellow flags like 
they used to have at gas stations saying they have got no gas. No, they 
have got gas, but they have got it at an exorbitant price, so this is 
the annual celebration.
  Now, ExxonMobil, last year, they were hurting. They only made $32.6 
billion. Their last CEO, when he retired, they gave him a $500 million 
bonus. They are hurting. He went out and bought oil fields with it in 
Africa. That is pretty cute.
  There is a shortage, and that is why you are paying over four bucks a 
gallon in many places, particularly in my district and in the Western 
United States, over four bucks a gallon because of this extraordinary 
shortage.
  So here we are, it is Memorial Day. Wouldn't it be nice if we reined 
in the oil companies? Wouldn't it be nice if we stopped subsidizing 
them with tax breaks?
  Well, not on the Republican side of aisle, they think that is 
patriotic to subsidize the oil companies' tax rates because they need 
them because there is a shortage. Well, no, there isn't a shortage, 
but, hey, they still need and want those tax breaks, and they want to 
price gouge people at the pump.
  So I, for one, will celebrate Memorial Day appropriately, remembering 
those who have served our country, but for one Member of Congress, I 
would like to do something about what is going on with oil and gas 
prices.
  I would like to take away their subsidies. I would like to get the 
speculators on Wall Street out of the oil and gas business. They are 
driving up the price.
  Even according to ExxonMobil, 75 cents a gallon you pay at the pump 
today, 75 cents of that dollar--$4--that is going to Wall Street 
speculators, something that didn't use be to be allowed and a bill that 
I voted against which deregulated that commodities markets, which was 
supposed to be re-regulated under Dodd-Frank, but the Republicans are 
opposing any and every effort to re-regulate the commodities market.
  Unfortunately, there are few on my side of the aisle who are in the 
pockets of the oil industry, too, so we could do better. We could do 
better for our veterans, and we could do better for the American 
consumers. Let's do it.

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