Apr 26, 2006- We Need Action, Not Just Talk

HON. MARCY KAPTUR
 OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2006

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, when you become President and Vice President ofthe United States,but you have spent your life in the oil industry, I suppose it isn't surprisingthat decisions that you might make when you are President and Vice Presidentwould result in your enriching yourself more from the industry in which you hadspent your life.

It may not be surprising that gasoline now in this country is well over $3 agallon, and imported oil over $70 a barrel, two-thirds of what we consume inmaking that gasoline coming from the most undemocratic places in the world,Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Colombia, Nigeria.

It is interesting, if you look at the President and the Vice President, thePresident spent his life in Midland, Texas, really drilling that community dry, and then heand his family founded the Zapata Oil Company and made relationships with oilcompanies in Mexico.

The President that we have now had investments in Bahrainprior to his becoming President of the United States. And the VicePresident, of course, was the CEO of Halliburton, which got all of thosenoncompetitively bid contracts in Iraq.

We watched the former President Bush become a major partner in the CarlisleGroup, getting big money from all the oil-producing countries in the Middle East and huge investments and speaking fees fromthese very same places. Is that merely coincidence?

Yesterday, at long last then we see President Bush make a cameo appearancebefore the Renewable Fuels Association, and he gave a speech that many peoplehad been waiting years to hear. He said in the speech we needed aninvestigation of why prices are going up the way they have over the last year.I would like to respectfully suggest to the President we need more than aninvestigation. We need new energy, new energy leadership by the President andVice President. We don't need any more studies, and we don't need any moreinvestigations.

The President said that every car can run on 10 percent ethanol. Well, whereis his action plan to do it? That is what many of us have been arguing, notjust this year, not just last year, going back to the beginning of hisadministration when we pushed for a renewable energy title as part of the farmbill, and his administration has barely funded it, and they fought it everystep of the way inside this Chamber.

Now, the President said that with small changes some cars can run on E-85, ablend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Mr. President, there aremore than 5 million cars, trucks, vans on the road that will run on 85 percentethanol right now. Every major manufacturer has announced major efforts to producemore E-85 vehicles. DaimlerChrysler announced two more just this week. Guesswhat, Mr. President? The drivers can't get the fuel for the cars they havebought. What are you doing to help America develop the infrastructurefor these new fuels?

The President talks about increased research for new forms of energy, butwhat are we doing with the research we already have? Where are the Federalstandards requiring Federal buildings to use more solar energy? How about theWhite House itself? How many Federal facilities are putting wind generators ontheir own property to develop energy? How many of our military bases areconverting to biodiesel and to ethanol? When will the Chevy Suburbans thatescort the Presidential motorcades actually use E-85 as an example of what canbe done? I encourage the President to put a gas pump right over there at theWhite House.

The President can talk about not buying oil to place in the StrategicPetroleum Reserve to help hold the price of gasoline down by a penny or two,but why is he letting Americacontinue her addiction to imported oil? Wouldn't a good way to break with thepast be to rename the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as the Strategic FuelsReserve and start filling it with stocks of ethanol and biodiesel that can berotated through the fuel supply system to help make these new fuels a biggerpart of our energy mix? I introduced H.R. 3345 last year to do just that. Iinvite the President's endorsement of that effort.

We need real action for today and tomorrow, not more of these falsepromises. We really don't need to build any more oil refineries when we aretrying to move to new sources of energy. That would be like building morehorseshoe factories when the automotive age was dawning.

We need to mandate that oil companies use their exorbitant properties to putE-85 and biodiesel pumps in the ground right now across this country and to usesome of their profits to do that.

We need to help our country, not just let these companies enrich themselvesand their top executives more. Then the millions of vehicles that are alreadyon the road could help lead Americato a new energy future.

We need a President that gives us some action, not just talk.

We need legislation like the Biofuels Energy Independence Act, H.R. 388, mybill to provide additional financing for the marketing, production, anddistribution of biofuels, as well as the establishment of a biofuels feed stockreserve held by our farmers.

We need legislation like H.R. 1398, my bill to require that by 2010 gasolinebe blended with at least 10 percent ethanol, and that diesel be blended with atleast 5 percent biodiesel. We need standards that give us quantifiable goalsagainst which we can measure progress, and to which we can hold ourselvesaccountable.

In short, Mr. President, while we appreciate your kind words and goodwishes, we are begging for your active support in the form of realistic budgetrequests, speedy implementation action by agencies, and a commitment to makinga difference not 10 years from now when your administration has its place inhistory but in the remaining days that you have to make a difference that canbe felt in every American home, every American business, and everyAmerican community.