[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                BIG OIL

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon 
oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico was a tragedy for the workers killed and 
their families. It has also become an economic disaster for the people 
of the gulf coast and an unparalleled environmental disaster for our 
Nation. As we work to stop and clean up the spill, we also need to end 
the coziness between big oil and the Federal agencies that regulate the 
industry. That chummy relationship has shielded big oil from being held 
accountable for years, and it is high time we make sure that government 
is cracking down on, not cozying up to, the oil companies.
  As I discussed a few days ago at a Judiciary Committee hearing 
examining liability issues related to the BP oilspill, Congress should 
take action right away to deter wrongdoing and encourage the kind of 
responsible, careful drilling we need. One way to do that is to 
eliminate big oil's liability cap for natural resources and economic 
damage caused by oilspills, such as the loss of travel and tourism 
revenue that businesses across the gulf are experiencing. I am a 
cosponsor of Senator Menendez's legislation to do just that. The 
oilspill in the gulf has made it painfully clear that this liability 
cap is far too low. The existing $75 million liability cap is less than 
1 day's worth of profits for BP, which earned almost $6 billion in 
profits in the first quarter of this year.
  But that must be just the beginning of a comprehensive effort to 
change the way government approaches big oil. For far too long, the oil 
industry has gotten special treatment, in large part because it is one 
of the wealthiest, most powerful special interests in Washington. The 
oil and gas industry gave $35 million in political donations in the 
last Presidential election cycle, and $\1/4\ billion in donations over 
the last 20 years. One of the reasons I have worked to curb the 
influence of money in politics for so many years is because of the 
undue influence of big oil.
  Those donations have contributed to the oil industry's access to 
Congress and to the agencies that are supposed to regulate oil 
exploration and production. It is no coincidence that the oil industry 
has received unjustified tax breaks and other favorable treatment for 
years. That has to change, and we can start by getting rid of taxpayer-
funded giveaways for the oil and gas industry, as I have proposed in my 
Control Spending Now Act, legislation to cut the deficit by about $\1/
2\ trillion over 10 years. Part of that bill would end a taxpayer 
subsidy for the processing of oil company permits. I also support 
efforts to repeal over $35 billion in oil and gas tax breaks targeted 
by President Obama for elimination. As we seek to rein in record 
deficits, it is time to end these unjustified giveaways to an industry 
that doesn't need taxpayer support.
  Congress must also make sure that regulators aren't simply acting as 
rubberstamps for whatever the oil industry wants. Unfortunately, too 
often the Federal Government ends up listening more to the powerful 
industries it is supposed to be regulating than to the consumers it is 
supposed to be protecting. Whether it is Wall Street or big oil that is 
calling the shots, the result is rarely good for my constituents in 
Wisconsin.
  Another critical way to hold big oil accountable is to pass my ``Use 
It or Lose It'' legislation to ensure oil companies are diligently 
exploring the Federal leases they currently have, and not sitting on 
those leases in an effort to drive up gas prices. We should also 
restore the Clean Water Act, CWA, to its full strength. The CWA is the 
main statute used to prosecute polluters who dump oil into waters of 
the United States, and it is never been more important to ensure that 
polluters are held accountable for the damage they do to our economy 
and our environment.
  Congress has the responsibility to look ahead and do what it takes to 
prevent a disaster like the one in the gulf from happening again. We 
have to come at this issue from all sides to make sure that BP is held 
accountable for the current spill, that we work to prevent future 
spills with proper regulations, and that we upend the culture that 
provides tax breaks and special treatment for big oil in the first 
place. Working to stop and clean up the spill in the gulf is not 
enough. Congress has to clean up the cozy Washington culture that 
favors big corporations over the needs of American people, and over the 
protection of our economy and our air and water.

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