Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act

Floor Speech

COMPREHENSIVE AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 16, 2008)

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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the committee for his leadership and kind words to the people of the gulf coast. Let me thank all of my colleagues who have offered to us their concern and certainly their support. I just landed, and I came from the view of a devastated community, an area in Galveston represented by my colleagues that has experienced the greatest devastation that they have seen in decades. Three million people are without power, many of them desperate because of their financial conditions. As everyone knows, particularly my friends from Louisiana, sometimes getting power back together takes a long time.

That is why this bill was important enough for me to come back, because it is a balance. As I left Houston, there were people crying out for diesel fuel, hospitals needing 700 gallons of fuel, and price gouging that law enforcement officers had to stop. People lined up at gas stations wherever they could find fuel, and those who could not find it were begging for fuel. So we know we have to do something about this calamity of energy and need.

I come from what has been called the oil capital of the world. I practiced oil and gas law. And as someone said on the other side of the aisle, there is no fear over here. Democrats want to balance what is best for America, and we have done so.

So there is a little bit of sacrifice that we are doing, but it is important to note that this bill brings relief to those suffering in the gulf and who need to find gasoline because in addition to many other aspects, it opens up leasing of 319 million acres; 85 million acres come from a State option.

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That's a balance. But at the same time, this bill includes $18 billion in tax cuts to spur green jobs. And energy is all kinds of energy sources. And so, in addition to the oil, we have the opportunity to do more with green jobs.

We also allow a taking-out from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. If we could get this bill passed and signed, I could help the people in the Gulf region because it would come to hospitals, it would come to gasoline stations. It would come to people who are in need.

This is a bill that ends the current moratorium that allows drilling 3 miles off, but it allows drilling through a State option, 50 to 100 miles.

Let me just say this, Mr. Speaker. I have listened to a lot of Republicans. And interestingly enough, in the 2005 bill, they even said they are trying to move toward energy independence. This is what we do.

And I want to thank the chairman and Congressmen Green and Miller for allowing me to put language in this bill, and I'm proud of this language.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Beyond the fact of the expansion of the leases offshore and opt-in, it allows minority women and small businesses to have the opportunity to do something they've never done, bid for these offshore leases, and it creates an energy consortium of our universities to work with wind and solar.

I would like revenue sharing. I'm from the region. But we can't have everything. I hope to work on it, that we have these incentives that everybody is asking for. But now we have a balance, and the people in the Gulf region are crying out for resources and energy. And this bill, if it's gone to the Senate and it gets to the desk of the President, will help us do so.

This is a good bill. This is a bill that should be signed. This is a bill we're proud of.

And I want to thank my staff, Arthur Sidney.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act. This legislation is a timely, necessary, and a comprehensive approach to addressing our energy crisis.

I am especially proud to support this bill because my staff, and I worked tirelessly to ensure that appropriate language was included to benefit all Americans--especially, small, minority, and women-owned businesses, institutions of higher learning, particularly minority serving institutions. I also worked hard so that the American consumers would benefit from paying lower gas prices at the pump. I am proud that such a progressive and comprehensive piece of legislation is on the floor of the House today. I thank Speaker NANCY PELOSI, Democratic Majority Leader STENY HOYER, and Representatives RAHALL, MILLER, and GREEN for their leadership in bringing today's important energy legislation to the floor that will address, in part, our current national energy crisis. I would also like to thank Mr. Arthur D. Sidney, my Legislative Director, for his work on this bill.

I AM PLEASED TO HAVE MY LANGUAGE INCLUDED IN H.R. 6899

I am especially proud to stand in support of this progressive piece of legislation because I was able to get my language included in this bill. Specifically, I was able to get included language in this bill that covers four critical issues: (1) the expansion of leases to offshore lands along the Outer Continental Shelf; (2) that States might opt-in to allow leasing off its costs by enacting legislation signed by the Governor or referendum; (3) allows the Secretary of Interior to establish goals to ensure equal opportunity to bid on offshore leases for qualified small, women-owned, and minority-owned exploration and production companies and may implement outreach programs for qualified historically underutilized exploration and production companies to participate in the bidding process for offshore leases; and (4) provides that the Secretary of Energy shall award a grant on a competitive basis to a consortium of institutions of higher learning for the establishment of a National Energy Center of Excellence to conduct research and education activities in geological and geothermal sciences, renewable energy and energy efficiency (including energy technology using clean coal, solar, wind, oil, natural gas, hydroelectric, biofuels, ethanol, and other energy alternatives), and energy conservation, including a special emphasis on environmentally safe energy. This consortium shall include at least two institutions of higher learning that are historically Black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribally-based universities and colleges.

As a senior Member of the House, representing the 18th Congressional District, which includes Houston, the energy capital of the world, I am pleased to support this bill. I am glad to have authored language and have it included in this bill. My language will go far in making sure that individuals, that heretofore have been underserved, are provided a seat at the proverbial energy table. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this bill could not come at a better time for Americans. To put it mildly, Americans are in desperate need of relief. Just a few months ago in May 2008, gas prices were at an all-time high. The price of regular-grade unleaded gasoline has risen well above $4 in some States. Increasingly, as the economy spirals to a recession, Americans must choose between food, energy, and gas. This crisis is of national and international importance. It is expected that the damage from Hurricane Ike which hit Houston and other parts of Texas, last week, will also drive up domestic oil prices.

BACKGROUND ON OIL PRICES AND THE CASE FOR THE NECESSITY OF THIS LEGISLATION

The price of crude oil is the largest single factor in the retail price of gasoline. Oil prices have not been regulated since the Reagan Administration; however, the market situation since 2004 has yielded little excess capacity. The weakening value of the dollar, political uncertainty, and unrest in places such as Nigeria, Venezuela, India, and China, exacerbate the problem. Worse still, is the plight faced by the developing world. While the developed world is facing high oil prices, the developing world is facing even higher prices with the weakening value of the dollar. Food prices all over the world are rising, and instability is growing.

Mr. Speaker, oil prices reached a record $147 per barrel and the American people are suffering. Many are faced with the decision to pay for gas or to pay for more food to feed their hungry families. Consumers are in desperate need of relief in the prices of oil, gas, and food.

But even refiners cannot escape the impact of the rising price of crude oil. Refining companies that have no upstream component, all reported steep year-over-year profit losses for the first quarter of 2008.

The overall effects on the consumer have been deep and widespread. Concern over the rising price of retail gas has been mounting for 3 years, and even as fuel exacts a greater toll on consumers' budgets, its macroeconomic effects have reverberated through all sectors of the economy.

The rise in fuel prices is having a deleterious effect on other industries, including the automobile industry. Sales of mid-size cars and trucks have declined. Automakers reported an overall drop in sales of 6.3 percent in February of this year, led by light trucks--which were down 10.6 percent--and sport utility vehicles--down 7.7 percent. The average fuel economy of new vehicles has increased by more than half a mile per gallon since 2004.

These rising gas prices are also spilling over into other sectors and they are having equally deleterious effects. In a recent survey of plumbing, heating, and cooling contractors, more than 90 percent of respondents expected their business to be harmed because of the high fuel costs. Without change, such as H.R. 6899, long-term, sustained gas price increases are going to severely affect persons living in the suburbs because of the high gas prices and the long commutes. H.R. 6899 will bring marked improvements in energy prices.

H.R. 6899--THE LEGISLATION ON THE FLOOR TODAY

H.R. 6899 will address the price at the pump by expanding drilling in an environmentally conscious manner. This bill is comprehensive, and its implementation will expand domestic and renewable sources of energy to bolster our national security. This is a real energy bill that will expand production and supply without sacrificing environmental concerns. The goal of this bill is to make the production and exploration of energy sources more affordable, more accessible, and more environmentally friendly.

H.R. 6899 will end subsidies to the oil companies, promote good jobs here in America, and require Big Oil companies to pay what they owe America's taxpayers. It puts America on the path toward energy independence and a clean green energy future through greater energy efficiency and conservation, and protects consumers with strong action to lower the price you pay at the pump.

This comprehensive and sweeping measure takes strong action to lower the price at the pump. It does so by releasing a small portion of oil from the Government's strategic reserve, and invests royalties from oil companies owed the American taxpayer in alternative energy technology.

H.R. 6899 commits America to a renewable energy future and jobs by extending and expanding tax incentives for renewable electricity, solar and wind energy, and fuel from America's heartland, as well as for plug-in hybrid cars, while requiring 15 percent of American electricity to come from renewable energy. This is a real energy bill.

This bill includes a compromise to responsibly open up the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, with environmental protections, while demanding that Big Oil companies use the leases they have already been issued. It promotes efficiency and conservation that will save consumers billions, with tax incentives and loans for energy efficient homes, buildings, and appliances, and updated efficiency standards for buildings.

I am pleased that this bill is one of the few recent energy bills that have already garnered strong bipartisan support on the House floor. Now, more than ever, in a time where the American people are experiencing serious economic woes, with a rampant mortgage crisis, the failings of major financial institutions, low wages and high prices, America needs legislation to make oil more accessible and more affordable. Because oil is a finite commodity, it is imperative that all Americans have access. This bill does just that: provides access in a responsible and sensible manner.

Importantly, this bill lowers costs to consumers and protects taxpayers. This is critically important given our growing dependence upon sources of foreign oil and the ever increasing world price of oil. To that end, this bill temporarily releases nearly 10 percent of the oil from the Government's stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and replaces it later with heavier, cheaper crude oil. This is a real energy bill that provides real solutions to America's energy crisis.

The bill provides royalty reform by making oil companies pay their fair share. Further, H.R. 6899 ensures that oil companies pay their fair share of royalties on flawed leases granted in 1998 and 1999. Because of mistakes made by the Interior Department, oil companies holding 70 percent of leases issued for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in 1998 and 1999 became exempt from paying any royalties, costing American taxpayers about $15 billion. This bill makes it more efficient for the Interior Department to collect royalty payments from oil and gas companies owed to the American taxpayer. Additionally, this bill adds a new requirement that it must be in the fiduciary interest of the Federal Government for oil companies to be permitted to make royalty in kind, instead of cash, payments to the government.

H.R. 6899 restores accountability and integrity in oil leasing at the Mineral Management Service. As you are aware, several recent events have called the integrity of this fine institution in question. This bill attempts to right some of those wrongs and address the misconduct that has occurred.

This bill provides for a renewable energy future and creates American jobs. The bill includes $18 billion in tax cuts to spur green jobs and American energy independence, including an 8-year extension of the investment tax credit for solar energy and fuel cells.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6899 includes a 3-year extension on the production tax credit for energy derived from biomass, geothermal hydropower, landfill gas, and solid waste. H.R. 6899 provides for a 1-year extension of the production tax credit for energy derived from wind and clean renewable energy bonds for electric cooperatives and public power. It also provides for incentives for the production of homegrown renewable fuels and tax credits for the purchase of fuel-efficient, plug in hybrid vehicles and it provides incentives for energy conservation for individual businesses and State and local governments.

The bill expands domestic energy supply by ending the current moratorium which only allows drilling 3 miles offshore. The bill also increases domestic oil production across America and in Alaska.

Regarding Alaska, this bill incorporates a modified version of the ``Use It'' legislation that creates more stringent requirements that oil companies produce oil during the initial term of their lease. H.R. 6899 mandates annual lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to speed its development and oil and production. Importantly, the bill bans export of Alaskan oil outside of the United States. It also calls upon the Bush Administration to facilitate completion of the oil pipeline infrastructure into the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and to facilitate the construction of the Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline, which could create up to 100,000 jobs.

H.R. 6899 provides the greatest energy efficiency and conservation of any other bill introduced before the Congress. This bill strengthens energy efficiency codes for buildings, provides incentives for energy efficient homes, and reduces transit fees for commuter rail and buses and expands service through $1.7 billion grants to transit agencies for the next 2 years. This is a real energy bill, and I urge its adoption.

MY FOUR AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 6899

Mr. Speaker, I already briefly mentioned the language that my staff and I were able to get included in the bill. I would now like to take the opportunity to talk a little more at length about this language and explain why it is imperative that any comprehensive energy bill include this language. My language covers four areas.

Critically, my language provides for the expansion of leases to offshore lands along the Outer Continental Shelf. This is important because it expands production and supply possibilities. This should alleviate the deficit of energy and should hopefully lead to lower energy prices.

Second, my language addresses another critical issue: the ability for states to opt-in. Specifically, my language provides that states might opt-in to allow leasing off of its coasts by enacting legislation signed by the Governor or referendum. This is important because it gives States more latitude in the use and dispensation of energy along its coasts.

Third, my language allows the Secretary of Interior to establish goals to ensure equal opportunity to bid on offshore leases for qualified small, women-owned, and minority-owned exploration and production companies and implement outreach programs for qualified historically underutilized exploration and production companies to participate in the bidding process for offshore leases. My city of Houston is the oil capital of the world, and as such, it has small, women-owned, and minority- owned exploration and development companies that would greatly benefit by outreach and leases that the Department of Interior could provide to them. I purposefully structured the language so that the Department of Interior would not be fettered and would have wide latitude in ensuring that money and leasing opportunities would be extended to underserved communities.

Fourth, my language provides that the Secretary of Energy shall award a grant on a competitive basis to a consortium of institutions of higher learning for the establishment of a National Energy Center of Excellence to conduct research and education activities in geological and geothermal sciences, renewable energy and energy efficiency (including energy technology using clean coal, solar, wind, oil, natural gas, hydroelectric, biofuels, ethanol, and other energy alternatives), and energy conservation, including a special emphasis on environmentally safe energy.

This consortium shall include at least two institutions of higher learning that are historically black colleges, hispanic-serving institutions, and tribally-based universities and colleges. This last piece is important because it ensures that minority-serving institutions benefit from the largess and capital that is set aside for energy and renewable research. It further ensures that these universities will develop top notch disciplines, programming, and educational infrastructure that will be used for energy development, renewables, and energy conservation. Energy development, renewables, clean energy, and energy conservation is the future, and it is here to stay. Minorities and other historically underserved populations must be encouraged to enter and thrive in these growing disciplines.

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