[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15526-15527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           BLOCKING SOLUTIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the code word is that all Democrats want to 
do something ``perfunctory.'' That is code for blocking another bill. 
We are up to 83. They have blocked those. Obviously, they are now going 
to block this oil legislation.
  Look at this picture. The Republicans introduced their bill on what 
to do about the energy problems. Part of that bill deals with 
speculation. We, the Democrats, think speculation is part of what is 
driving up these oil prices. But we didn't just dream this up. 
Academics, economists say that the cost of oil is 20 to 50 percent 
speculation. My friend the Republican leader said it is a little issue, 
speculation. If the price is 20 to 50 percent speculation, according to 
which economist or academic one talks to, that is a pretty big deal. If 
you lower the price of oil by 20 percent, that lowers gasoline well 
below $4 a gallon; 50 percent knocks it to $2 a gallon. That sounds 
like a pretty big issue to me.
  I don't think it is just by chance that once we introduced this bill, 
oil prices started to drop, because much of the speculation takes place 
by people who have no inkling they will ever use the oil. Prior to 
2006, it was against the law, but the Republican-dominated Congress 
passed a law saying you don't have to take possession of the oil; you 
can just go ahead and buy it. That is what has happened. That is why 
speculation is an important piece of legislation.
  Let's assume that is all we did, nothing but speculation. Remember, 
it is part of their bill, and we think it is a big part of what is the 
problem in America today. Let's assume we only did that. That would 
seem to be a pretty big step in the right direction, if we were able, 
with a piece of legislation, to lower the price of oil even by the 
small amount of 20 percent and maybe by the 50 percent some say. But 
they obviously do not want us to do that.
  Let's go to the next step.
  We see ads being paid for all over the country by whom? Oil 
companies. Oil companies are saying: Join with our Republican 
colleagues in the Senate and drill more, drill more, drill more. You 
get the picture? Oil companies, Republicans in the Senate? Republicans 
are looking at these ads paid for by the big oil companies, full-page 
ads.
  They can afford them. They made $250 billion last year.
  We Democrats are not opposed to drilling. Right now, there is 68 
million acres available onshore and offshore. In addition, there is a 
lot of oil in other places. All the Interior Department has to do is 
lease the land. They have the authority to do that. There is no 
moratorium on any of that. In Alaska alone, there is 25 million 
additional acres which oil people say is a gold mine for oil. They can 
go drill there now. What the Republicans want--and we see what they are 
doing here--is to protect the oil companies. Just as Bush and Cheney 
have done for 8 years, the most oil-friendly administration in our 
history is now being supported by their friends, as they have for 8 
years, Republicans in the Senate.
  Republicans in the Senate, the oil companies, they want yesterday 
forever. We want to change. That is why someone like T. Boone Pickens 
has joined with Al Gore. Get that picture again. T. Boone Pickens and 
Al Gore? They have joined together saying: Oil is not where it is. We 
have to get away from our addiction to oil. We have to get rid of our 
addiction to oil. Al Gore says that. He lays out the problem very well. 
Here comes T. Boone Pickens with a solution. He says we should have a 
little bridge, after a few years of using natural gas, and then it 
should be all renewable energy.
  We have tried now for months to get a renewable energy tax credit. 
Senator Durbin asked me to meet with one of his constituents yesterday. 
I was so impressed with this man. He is an immigrant to the United 
States from the Ukraine. He has made a couple fortunes. He is now a big 
player in windmills.
  He has 2,000 megawatts of electricity being produced from windmills. 
That is a lot of electricity--a lot of electricity. It is much larger 
than the coal-fired generating plant which was one of the largest in 
the country in Mojave in Nevada which just closed because it was so 
dirty. It is bigger than that. It is huge what he is doing. But he came 
to us and said: I am about to lose everything--everything--because the 
banks are going to withdraw my loans because the tax credit is not here 
next year.
  So here is the picture--again, talking about a picture for the third 
time. The Republicans have obviously told us they are going to block 
legislation dealing with oil. We have said: Let's do speculation. They 
have talked now for weeks about drilling. They have talked about what 
the oil companies are advertising they want to do with full-page ads. 
They want to drill. They want to leave the decision to be made by the 
Governors.
  We have said now for more than a week: Let's vote on that. No, that 
is not what we want to do. The Republican whip yesterday told the 
Democratic whip they have 28 amendments. That is not a serious effort 
to move forward on this legislation. They have been saying and 
following the lead of the oil companies saying: We want to use less, 
drill more. And we are saying: Let's vote on your proposal. They are 
saying, no, no way, because we are filibustering another piece of 
legislation--83.
  So the American people understand we have people over there on that 
side of the aisle who have joined with big oil. They are very happy 
they are running the ads. They are saying: No, we are not going to do 
anything about speculation, and even though we have talked about this 
great panacea to all the problems America faces, we will drive down 
prices immediately with our amendment on drilling. We are saying: Fine, 
let's vote on your amendment. They say: No, thanks.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, will the distinguished majority leader 
yield for one question?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will be happy to yield.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I would ask the distinguished majority 
leader, I am informed he had stated in his earlier remarks that 20 
percent of the problem we have with high oil prices now is the result 
of speculation. I was wondering if the distinguished majority leader 
would--that is the first time I had heard that figure. I wonder if he 
could provide a citation or some place----
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would say to my friend, if it is the first 
time you have heard it, with all due respect, you have not been 
listening to what has been going on on the Senate floor. I am not the 
only one who has said it. Many people have said it. I would be happy to 
place in the Record--and the first person we will place in the Record 
is somebody who was a high-ranking official with the commodity futures 
trading organization, where he says it is 50 percent. Now, that is in 
the Record already. I will be happy to repeat his

[[Page 15527]]

name, and we will spread this all through the Record. He says 50 
percent. Many others say it is 20 percent. That is why we believe 
speculation is an important piece of this legislation.
  I say to my friend from Texas, as I said earlier, if the man who says 
it is as much as 50 percent wrong, and it is only 20 percent, that is 
still a big chunk out of this, and it must mean it is worthwhile 
pursuing because in the Republicans' proposal you have in your proposal 
a speculation piece.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I would respond briefly and say to the 
distinguished majority leader, I have been listening. I have been on 
the floor literally every day talking about this issue. But I will say 
what surprised me about the 20-percent figure is that Warren Buffett, 
the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said it is not speculation that is 
driving up the price of oil, it is supply and demand.
  So that is why I was asking for a citation because it is the first 
time I have heard it. I do not think I am the only one, and I have been 
listening.
  Mr. REID. Before I leave the floor, Mr. President, I will simply say 
that Warren Buffett is a great guy. I like him very much. But keep in 
mind, he has not made his money in oil. He has made his money selling 
furniture and insurance and other things of that nature. Warren Buffett 
is a great person. I have great respect for his ability to make money. 
But he has not made it in oil. I think we need to look at some of the 
other experts in this regard.
  I repeat, there must be some substance to it. The Republicans have it 
in their legislation.

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