[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TAR SANDS TAX LOOPHOLE ELIMINATION ACT

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, while I do not support the development 
of tar sands--an environmentally destructive and carbon-intensive 
process--we should not continue a loophole that lets oil companies off 
the hook for covering destruction from oil spills.
  In 1990, we authorized the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the 
immediate costs of cleaning up oil spills, and it is funded by an 
excise tax on crude oil and petroleum products, but the oil derived 
from tar sands that would be transported through the Keystone XL 
pipeline is not subject to this tax.
  Since that oil is a thick, sticky form of crude, more difficult and 
costly to clean up than other types of oil, the exemption makes no 
sense, especially if it is as safe as some allege. That is why 
yesterday I reintroduced the Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act, 
which would ensure that oil pays into the Oil Spill Liability Trust 
Fund that travels through this pipeline if it is ever constructed.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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