Date: 2006-05-23
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

it is just not natural to think that the oil industry. the CEOs. the board members of the oil industry will say. well. we want to do the right thing. Matter of fact. we are going to tfke money out of our pockets and profits and we are going to put it on the table and we are going to make America energy independent. It goes against financial logic for them. Their stockholders now are making more money than they have ever made in the history of the country. When they have their shareholder meetings. Mr. Speaker. they do not go there and say. boy. people are paying a lot of money at the pump. What should we do? What should we do? No. We are making more money than we have ever made in our lives. and we are being subsidized by the Republican majority in Congress. What can wedo to keep the Republican majority in control of the Congress so we can continue getting what we are getting? That is what is happening. What has to happen on behalf of the American people. they have to have a Congress that is willing to say. you know. that is not going to happen any more. We are going to make sure we work very hard so we can start stroking away from this kind of business here. Folks are talking out of both sides of their mouths saying that. oh. we believe in innovation and in alternative fuels. yet at the same time denying their customers the right to use their credit card to buy ethanol. This is on a pump. This is on the pump. This is on the pump. This is not something that some environmental group ran out and put a sticker on a pump. You can pull up to an ExxonMobil station now and see that on the pump. That is very unfortunate. Mr. Speaker. It is not natural for that to happen. It is not natural for the Republican majority to say. well. Mr. President. we dont agree with your tax policy because its wrong that we are borrowing money from foreign nations andwe are selling America way. It is not natural. It is not natural for the Republican majority to say we have to have oversight. We have to make sure that we have no more Hurricane Katrinas. Yes. there were some committees that met and found out the obvious. that things went wrong. But there were no solutions that came out of the report of the partisan committee here in the House. It is not natural for the Republican majority to stand up to companies that are raking in record profits off the backs of the American people. This is well documented. And. Mr. Speaker. I am not even going to beg the Republican majority to do the right thing at this point. because history doesnt reflect that they are willing to be bipartisan in a way that will benefit all Americans. with making sure we work in a bipartisan way. One .thing our leadership has said and one thing we have embraced here in the 30something Group is that when the American people see fit. hopefully in November. if they are willing to have a Democratic Congress to stand up to this White House and to stkand up to the special interests here in Washington. D.C.. then we will have bipartisanship. Because bipartisanship can only happen when the leadership allows it. I am saying the leadership in charge allows bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker. well documented. There are conference committees when we pass a bill in the House and the Senate that comes together and the Democratic members are not even welcome to the conference committee to sit and talk about the ideas and exchange with the Senate so we can send a positive package to the President of the United States. That is not happening.