[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6126-6127]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              GAS PRICES AND THE NEED FOR LOBBYING REFORM

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, yesterday President Bush said record oil

[[Page 6127]]

prices and large cash flows also mean that these companies don't need 
unnecessary tax breaks. How does the President think that these oil 
companies got the tax breaks in the first place? A Republican Congress 
of course.
  Energy companies spent $86 million lobbying Congress last year, and 
in return the Republican Congress gave them $14.5 billion of hard-
earned money by the taxpayers. You can't get a return like that on Wall 
Street. Before the President signed the energy bill of June 6, 2005, 
energy was $2.09 a gallon. Today it is $3.30 in my district.
  The debate about lobbying reform is a debate about a $14.5 billion 
taxpayer giveaway to Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. But what this 
Congress is going to vote on tomorrow is not lobbying reform. To quote 
the Washington Post, it is a sham. To quote the New York Times, it is a 
laughing stock. You could say the same and use the same adjective to 
describe the energy bill.
  Remember, it all started with the Vice President behind closed doors 
meeting with energy executives. They weren't exactly playing Scrabble 
or gin rummy back there. Madam Speaker, the Republican bill isn't 
reform, it is just another sign that the people's House is still for 
sale.

                          ____________________