Date: 2008-02-27
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

I would like to thank my friend. the gentlewoman from California . for the time. and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to this closed rule. I know the majority calls this a structured rule. but its a closed rule. Technically the majority gave the minority the ability to offer a substitute amendment if the substitute amendment was printed in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD before the end of the legislative day. The rule giving the minority the opportunity to draft a substitute was passed out of the Rules Committee at about 5:20 yesterday evening. The House finished its legislative day at 5:57. giving the minority 37 minutes in which to draft a substitute to a very complex tax issue while meeting PAYGO and germaneness requirements. I understand that at the time the House went out of session last night. minority staff from the Ways and Means Committee were talking to the Office of Legislative Counsel and the Joint Committee on Taxation in hopes of drafting a substitute amendment. But since they couldnt get all their work done in 37 minutes. the minority. in fact. was closed out and prohibited from offering any amendments under this closed rule. What is even more disturbing is that I am informed that during consideration of the rule yesterday. the distinguished chairwoman. Ms. SLAUGHTER. informed Ranking Member DREIER that the majority would keep the House in session so that the minority would have ample time to complete work on a substitute amendment. But the question must be asked of the majority at this time: How is 37 minutes enough time to draft legislation. especially on something as complicated as an energy tax bill? Mr. Speaker. it is not enough time. It is most unfortunate that the majority did not give the minority time to complete its work and that we are now proceeding under this closed process. Everyone in this body seeks to leave our children and grandchildren a better world In which to live. This great Nation has made great strides in protecting human health and the environment. but. clearly. we can do more. From 2001 to 2006. Republicanled Congresses invested nearly $12 billion to develop cleaner. cheaper and more reliable domestic renewable energy sources. This included sources such as cellulosic ethanol. hybrid electric vehicle technologies. hydrogen fuel cell technologies. wind and solar energy. clean coal and advanced nuclear technologies. I am pleased by the inclusion of the production tax credit. the PTC. in the underlying legislation being brought to the floor today. The PTC provides a tax credit for electricity produced from renewable energy facilities. Sources such as wind. solar and biomass are included under the tax credit. Since its enactment in 1992. the credit has encouraged the development of thousands of megawatts of clean. renewable electric generation facilities. But we must keep in mind that alternative fuels will not eliminate the need for traditional energy resources. Without additional supply. the tight market conditions that have put pressure on prices are going to persist. and this bill. the legislation being brought to the floor today under this rule. will do nothing to lower gas prices. Unfortunately. the majority has included in H.R. 5351. the underlying leg-: islation. more than $17 billion in tax increases. including a repeal of the section 199 manufacturing deduction. This tax incentive in current law is aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by encouraging domestic exploration and production of oil and natural gas. By removing this incentive for the domestic production of oil and natural gas. we would increase the incentive to look overseas for those energy resources. How would that be in our national interest? How does increasing the cost of doing business in the United States decrease the cost of gasoline for Americans? Why would we want to deincentivize investment in a sector of our economy with 1.8 million wellpaying jobs in the United States of America? Removal of these incentives will drive up prices to the American consumer even further and increase our dependence on foreign suppliers such as the buffoon Hugo Chavez. who earlier this month cut off oil sales to ExxonMobil and threatened once again to cut off all oil sales to the United States. And while the buffoon Chavez makes those threats to our energy supplies. the majority has decided that his company. Citgo. would continue to receive a tax break that the majority in the underlying legislation seeks to take away from American companies. Yes. under this legislation. three American oil and gas companies. ExxonMobil. Chevron and ConocoPhillips. will lose their current deduction while Citgo will continue to get theirs. Thats unbelievable. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.