[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8897-8898]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             GULF OILSPILL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it has been nearly 5 weeks since oil started 
spewing into the Gulf of Mexico and onto our shores. Millions of 
gallons, miles of polluted coastline, and more than a month later, the 
consequences of our oil addiction are as clear as the gulf's waters 
once were.
  It has also become clear that the companies responsible for this 
spill were poorly prepared for this possibility. There is no question 
that they failed to adequately invest in the technology necessary to 
respond to such a catastrophe. Days have turned into weeks, while the 
experts continue to experiment with ways to stop the spill. We still 
don't know when the end will come so cleanup can finally begin.
  Every year, these companies rake in record profits. Then they turn 
and spend that money on trying to find more oil. It is time they also 
find safer ways to drill for it and handle it. The five top oil 
companies have made $\3/4\ trillion in profits--$750 billion--over the 
past decade, but the amount they have invested in cleanup technologies 
is negligible.
  They have invested embarrassingly little in alternative fuels that 
would make us more secure both at home and abroad. I don't mind oil 
companies or any other company making money, but these multibillion-
dollar corporations are getting rich at the expense of our national 
security, our economy, and our environment. Every day we pay unfriendly 
regimes to feed our oil addiction is a day we are less safe.
  Everyone who stands in the way of diversifying our economy makes it 
harder for businesses to recover, for the unemployed to find work, and 
for our communities to prosper. And every time we see precious water 
and wildlife coated in crude oil, the threat to our environment is 
impossible to ignore. Pelicans were on the endangered species list. We 
took them off. Now, by the hundreds, they are dying. Where they do 
their hatching is soaked in oil. We may lose our pelicans as a result 
of BP.
  Weaning ourselves off oil is a hard fact for us to face. We consume 
more than 20 percent of the world's oil but produce less than 3 percent 
of the world's oil. It is not a change we can make overnight, but if we 
don't start, the next disaster could make the current one look like a 
drop in the bucket.
  I am tired of waiting for oil companies to get the message. America 
needs clean alternatives more urgently than ever. In the meantime, 
those responsible for this terrible oilspill must foot the bill. I am 
going to do everything I can to make sure they do foot that bill. 
Taxpayers will not pick up that tab.

[[Page 8898]]

  This is the final week of what has been a long and productive 
session. I know everybody is eager to return home to our States and 
meet with constituents and see our families and honor the sacrifice of 
our Nation's bravest this Memorial Day, which is 1 week from today.
  We have a lot to accomplish between now and then.
  One, we must pass a new jobs bill that cuts taxes for middle-class 
families and small businesses. It includes a host of tax credits, tax 
extenders, and tax incentives--all of which will help put people back 
to work. It is something Republicans and Democrats should come together 
to finish because it is something we can all be proud to support. More 
than that, it is something each of our States desperately needs.
  Two, we have to finish the supplemental war appropriations bill. I 
have heard some on the other side vow they will stand in the way of 
this funding. I can think of no worse message to send our troops over 
Memorial Day than that. I hope Republicans will work with us, not for 
our sake or their own but for the sake of our Nation's security and all 
those whose service makes it strong.
  Finally, scores of well-qualified nominees have been reported out of 
committee. They remain on the Senate calendar and are eager to fill 
these important, vacant positions. They should not be. At this time we 
have more than 100 nominations on the calendar. During the same period 
of time in the Bush administration, there were 13--that is 108 to 13. I 
hope we can confirm many of them this week so they can finally get to 
work.

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