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The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PALLONE) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this evening I would like to expose the Republicans' attempt to make a campaign issue out of the Nation's gas price spike crisis and Democrats' efforts to solve this crisis and continue working to protect our long-term energy security.
Higher gas prices should not be a partisan issue, but the Republicans are making it into one. On the other hand, the Democrats are trying to come up with bipartisan solutions. For instance, Democrats have called on committee chairmen holding hearings on this topic in the coming days to invite oil executives to testify so that these hearings are balanced. Democrats insist on exploring why the oil companies are showing record profits and why, when an investigation was announced, prices dropped immediately. Yet, the Republican leadership instead is making a sham of these hearings by using them as a forum to attack the Clinton-Gore administration. Moreover, the Republicans also do not want to invite the oil executives to testify, because they are in the pockets of big oil.
GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush is one of the worst offenders. He has raised 15 times more money from oil and gas interests than Vice President AL GORE, and at least 25 of his top fund-raisers are connected to the oil industry. Last year, one of the first bills he signed bailed out the oil industry with a $45 million tax break.
Let us look at other dilatory tactics by the Republicans. The Senate Republican leadership has held up reauthorization of the President's authority to draw down the strategic petroleum reserve and the Northeast heating oil reserve. These reserves would provide additional supplies for the gasoline and heating oil markets and would, in turn, bring down prices. The Clinton-Gore administration has supported both of these reserves. Yet, the Senate majority leadership has delayed action for too long, so even if both of these reserves were authorized today, the action is already too little, too late. As a result, Americans unfortunately are again to experience heating oil shortages in the Northeast this winter, and they have the Republican Congress to thank for it.
While the Clinton-Gore administration is trying to provide tax credits for energy efficient vehicles, buildings, homes and equipment, the Republican leadership is cutting funding for alternative energy sources and energy conservation measures. They have slashed funding for these common sense programs since they have been in the majority, which has resulted in a $1.3 billion shortfall. As recently as last week, the Republican leadership voted again to cut funding substantially below current funding levels for renewable energy programs in the Energy and Water funding bill. Tomorrow, the Republicans will have a chance to restore some of this funding. If they are serious about resolving this crisis, they will literally put their money where their mouths are on this vote.
The GOP leadership also wants to repeal gas taxes and jeopardize our Nation's transportation infrastructure. In addition, they want to gut environmental protections that cost only 2 to 3 cents per gallon.
Just in case anyone out there thinks a few pennies are too much to pay for clean air, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. KUCINICH) and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. BALDACCI) and I introduced a bill on Friday, H.R. 4739, that would enable the patent for blending cleaner, reformulated gasoline to be made available to all refiners. This would level the playing field for all refiners and, in turn, would bring down the price of reformulated gasoline.
If the Republican leadership is serious about working together in a bipartisan fashion to develop true solutions to this crisis, then they will work with us to bring legislation such as the bill my colleagues and I introduced last week to the floor quickly. They also would find common sense programs that promote alternative energy options, ensure that oil executives are present at this week's hearings, and work with us to resolve this crisis as quickly as possible.
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