[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11801-11802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          CONSUMER-FIRST ENERGY ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the price of oil is $132 a barrel. I 
do not know how the stock market is going to wind up, but with the slap 
in the face the economy got today with the unemployment rate 
skyrocketing and the price of oil $132 a barrel, the stock market is 
down about 300 points. How it is going to wind up today, I do not know.
  Mr. President, on the global warming bill we just completed--and I 
say ``completed''--we were unable to offer amendments, we were unable 
to legislate on this most important piece of legislation. The 
Republicans said what they wanted to do is anytime we mention ``global 
warming,'' they would mention ``gas prices.''
  Well, today, we do not have to guess what we are going to do next 
because I am going to file cloture on the most important piece of 
legislation dealing with gas prices we have done in some time.
  So, Mr. President, we, as I have indicated, heard the Republicans 
speak at length about the problem of high gas prices. In doing so, they 
follow the lead of the majority who have been not just speaking about 
high gas prices for months but now working to find some solutions. We 
introduced something called the Consumer-First Energy Act. It was 
blocked by the Republicans. But now maybe, with gas prices even higher 
than they were a month ago, our Republican friends are finally ready to 
join our pursuit of solutions. Perhaps now, after taking their gas 
prices on the floor of the Senate for a week and talking about it and 
talking about it, they are ready to back their words with action. So 
next week they will have a chance--it will be Tuesday morning--to vote 
on gas prices. We are going to return to that legislation that will 
relieve the burden of record gas prices for American consumers, both in 
the long term and the short term.
  What is in this bill? The President will remember, one of the things 
in the bill previously--we had five sections of the bill--one of them 
said: Mr. President, with the gas prices as high as they are, why do 
you continue to take this oil, the best oil there is--the sweet crude--
and pump it into the Petroleum Reserve when it is almost filled anyway? 
So we did that, and that now is not happening anymore. He is not 
pumping that because we peeled part of that off and passed it 
individually.
  So what is left in our legislation? First, it ends in billions of 
dollars in tax breaks for oil companies--oil companies whose executives 
have been hauling in record profits while we pay record prices for 
gasoline. I don't know what it is in Virginia, but in Nevada the price 
of gas is now more than $4 a gallon.
  As I sat on the floor of the Senate earlier this week, a friend of 
mine whom I went to high school with--his name is Ted Sandival and I 
have done legal work for him over the years when I practiced law and we 
have maintained a relationship--called me. I was wondering what was 
wrong. In the whole conversation, the only thing he expressed to me 
that he was concerned about was that he always wanted to buy a diesel 
vehicle because they last so much longer. So he bought a diesel vehicle 
and he said: Harry, I can't afford to put fuel in it anymore. I am 
paying almost $5 a gallon for diesel fuel.
  Well, the oil companies are making record profits. The oil executives 
are making record salaries and bonuses and are getting record amounts 
of compensation, and we don't think it is appropriate at this time for 
the American taxpayers to continue paying billions of dollars in tax 
breaks to the oil companies. We are going to vote on this Tuesday 
morning.
  The other section of our bill forces oil companies to do their part 
by investing part of their profits in clean and affordable alternative 
energy.
  Third: We protect the American people from price gougers and greedy 
oil traders who manipulate the market.
  Finally, a bipartisan section of this bill. Senators Specter and Kohl 
came to see me yesterday, both longtime members of the Judiciary 
Committee who believe that OPEC and others who are colluding to keep 
oil prices high should be subject to this Sherman Antitrust Act. 
Senator Specter went through all the legal reasons, and as we all know, 
he is a real legal scholar. So I am convinced he is right and we should 
do this.
  The Consumer First Energy Act does exactly what it promises: It ends 
more than 7 years of the Cheney energy policy that has lined the 
pockets of modern-day oil barons and left the American people to pay 
the bill.
  Finally, it puts consumers first. Is this a silver bullet ending all 
the problems? Of course not. But it is a bill that will solve some of 
the energy problems we have in our country today.
  This legislation is an important step that will make a difference, as 
I have said, in the long and the short run. So I hope the minority will 
put their votes where their mouths have been all week. Passing this 
smart, responsible bill will help put American families first and help 
take another step on the road to a renewable revolution.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. President, normally what we do is ask unanimous consent to move 
forward on this legislation. We know the minority, if they were here, 
would object. They are not here, so rather than embarrass anyone, I 
will now move to proceed to Calendar No. 743, S. 3044, and send a 
cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to S. 3044, the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008.

[[Page 11802]]

         Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Charles E. Schumer, Sheldon 
           Whitehouse, Robert P. Casey, Jr., Patty Murray, Debbie 
           Stabenow, Benjamin L. Cardin, Daniel K. Akaka, Jack 
           Reed, Claire McCaskill, Christopher J. Dodd, Amy 
           Klobuchar, Patrick J. Leahy, Barbara A. Mikulski, Frank 
           R. Lautenberg, Carl Levin.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory 
quorum be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. I now withdraw the motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is withdrawn.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I filed cloture on the motion to proceed to 
the legislation that I outlined, S. 3044, which is the Consumer First 
Energy Act. I am going to shortly move to proceed to H.R. 6049, the 
Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008. However, prior to doing 
that, I was going to ask unanimous consent that if cloture were invoked 
on the motion to proceed to S. 3044, that then the cloture motion on 
H.R. 6049 would be withdrawn. Since there is no one from the Republican 
side here to launch an objection, which I am told they would do, I am 
not going to ask for unanimous consent today but will do so on Monday 
when a Republican is here in the Senate.

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