[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24801-24802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 ENERGY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, middle-class families across this Nation 
are struggling to make ends meet. While housing and education prices 
are skyrocketing, wages have been held stagnant for the last 3 years. 
Now families can add energy to the list of out-of-control costs to 
their family budget.
  Gas is around 3 bucks a gallon. Utilities are now predicting families 
could pay as much as 70 percent more to heat their homes this winter. 
Natural gas prices are so high the Energy Department is predicting the 
average family will pay $350 more this winter than last winter. Home 
heating oil, used by many in the Northeast and Midwest, is 
skyrocketing.
  But while American families struggle with sky-high energy bills, oil 
and gas companies face a totally different problem: too much cash. For 
example, Exxon Mobil recently reported their profits increased by 75 
percent. Their revenues: $100 billion. Shell Oil, earnings 68 percent 
up. Phillips, 89 percent up. B.P. Amoco, 34 percent rise in quarterly 
earnings.
  American families are struggling with massive energy bills that cut 
into their living expenses, their college costs, and their health care 
costs, while energy companies are reaping huge, huge profits.
  Henry Hubble, a senior vice president at Exxon Mobil said, ``You have 
got to let the marketplace work.'' I agree with the executive from 
Exxon Mobil. Let the marketplace work.
  But here is where we disagree. When they had an energy bill down on 
this floor, the oil companies got a $14 billion taxpayer-funded 
corporate welfare giveaway to do oil and gas drilling around this 
country. They got $14 billion for companies making record profits.
  That is what we call corporate welfare. If they want the marketplace 
to work, give the taxpayers back their $14 billion. We should be not be 
subsidizing their business plans. Taxpayers are not in the business of 
helping companies making revenue runs at $100 billion a quarter where 
profits are up 89 percent.
  The Congress, not Democrats but the Republicans in Congress, are 
cutting college loans by $14 billion, they are cutting nutritional 
programs for 40,000 kids, and they are cutting kids health care. Yet 
what have they held sacrosanct? $14 billion to Exxon Mobil. My view is 
what corporate America needs in the energy business is a little free 
market medicine.
  We have seen nothing but corporate welfare around here in subsidizing 
the energy industry, and it is high time they get off the dole and 
started running their own business plan and stop asking the taxpayers 
to fund them. The only reason they do that around here is because, 
since 1980, the big oil companies have contributed $220 million to the 
Republican candidates for Congress, Senate, the Presidency, and their 
party. They have gotten a $14 billion return. You cannot get an 
investment return like that on Wall Street. It is 200 percent on their 
investment that they have gotten.
  This Congress has given big oil $14 billion in tax subsidies. If that 
is not bad enough, there is a refinery bill where we ended up giving 
them another $2 billion that they did not even ask

[[Page 24802]]

for. So with oil running at basically $3 a gallon at the gas pump, not 
only do consumers have to pay inflated prices to big oil at the gas 
pump, but on April 15 they get a bill because they have given them $14 
billion in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare so they can do one thing: 
execute their business plans.
  Well, I am suggesting they start doing a little more free enterprise 
in executing their business plans and stop relying on the taxpayers of 
America, who are struggling with sky-high energy prices, sky-high 
health care costs, and sky-high college tuition costs, just trying to 
struggle to make ends meet.
  What Congress would actually cut home heating assistance to our most 
needy citizens yet give Exxon Mobil and the other big energy companies 
$16 million? A Republican Congress, but, of course, this should make 
sense to all of us who have seen what goes on around here.
  When the Speaker's gavel comes down, that gavel is intended to open 
the people's House, not the auction house. What has happened around 
here lately when it comes to big oil companies is we auction off the 
American people and their future. When it comes to the pharmaceutical 
companies, who gave $132 million, they ended up with $135 billion in 
additional profit when we did the prescription drug bill. When we had a 
$5 billion problem to fix with Europe on the corporate trade tax issue, 
what did this Republican Congress do? Of course, $150 billion tax 
giveaway to corporate America to solve a $5 billion problem. Only using 
their type of math do you work like that.
  Pharmaceutical companies. Big oil companies. Corporate special 
interests. Selling away America. The Speaker's gavel is intended to 
open the people's House, not the auction house, and the United States 
Congress had better start acting like the people's House, because 
lately we are giving Christie's a run for its money around here.
  You cannot give out money fast enough to the energy companies, who 
are making massive profits, and on the other hand cut those who are 
most needy. You cannot have a policy in the country that says to oil 
companies, who are reaping huge profits, and that is their business, 
but we should not subsidize their business, we are going to give you 
more while cutting those who are struggling. These are not the values 
of this country, these are not the values of the Democratic party, and, 
thank God, they are not the values of the American people.
  We need a change. We need new priorities that focus on America's 
future. We can do better, and it is high time we turn the people's 
House back to the American people.

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