Washington, DC– Today, Representatives DeGette, Markey and Solis blasted President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress for six years of failure on energy policy.
“President Bush’s announcement today is nothing more than a cheap political stunt that will do nothing to lower gas prices or solve our nation’s energy crisis,” said Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO). “Our nation needs a real energy policy that develops new sources of energy, increases efficiency and promotes conservation.”
Since taking office President Bush and the Republican Congress have done nothing to limit U.S. reliance on foreign oil or help consumers at the pump. The Republican highlights on energy have been:
“The Republican leadership has not allowed hearings or legislative action on my legislation to end these taxpayer subsidized handouts to oil and gas companies,” said Representative Ed Markey (D-MA). “How high will these record oil and gas prices have to climb before this Republican Congress decides to put energy consumers ahead of energy companies?”
Democrats have real solutions to the nation’s growing energy crisis including;
“President Bush’s energy policy has consistently failed working families and small businesses across America while rewarding the oil and gas industry. Today’s announcement is no different,” said Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA). “Bush says he will increase investment in renewable energy, yet the budget he submitted to Congress tells a different story. He says oil dependency is a matter of national security, yet under his watch America’s dependency has increased by 10 percent. He says he wants to protect consumers, yet nothing in his plan will ensure that they’re not ripped off by wealthy oil companies. America’s consumers deserve real action, not rhetoric.”
# # #
FACT SHEET
The Republican History of Failure on Energy
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The President claims there are more than 30 years of secure oil and gas supplies in ANWR. Yet according to the U.S. Geological Survey there is less than a 6-month supply of oil in ANWR and that oil could not be brought to market in for 7-12 years.
Energy Bill
After pushing for nearly 5 years, President Bush signed his energy bill in July of 2005. Unfortunately, his bill did nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil or help consumers at the pump. It did however give more than $12 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the energy industry. Some of the highlights are:
(For more, see http://www.taxpayer.net/energy/pdf/hr6finalanalysis.pdf)
The bill also contained several provisions to significantly weaken existing public health and environmental laws including;
GAS ACT - Gasoline for America’s Security Act of 2005
In September of 2005 Rep. Barton released his new energy bill which is focused heavily on refinery production. Among the bill’s provisions:
U.S. Has Royalty Plan to Give Windfall to Oil Companies
February 14, 2006
New York Times
The Refinery Industry
Republicans in Congress and some in the oil industry have claimed that environmental regulations have restricted the building of new refineries in this country. Yet in the mid-1990’s, oil companies intentionally shut down refineries specifically to drive up profits.
* Internal Mobil Memo: Discusses how the company manipulated and in some cases lobbied for the strict California regulations governing refineries in order to keep smaller refiner Powerine from reopening a California refinery. The memo concludes, “Needless to say, we would all like to see Powerline stay down. Full court press is warranted in this case…. If they do start up, depending on circumstances, might be worth buying out their production and marketing ourselves. Especially if they start to market below our incremental cost of production….”
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/fs/5105.pdf
* Internal Chevron Memo: “A senior energy analyst at the recent API convention warned that if the US petroleum industry doesn't reduce its refining capacity it will never see any substantial increase in refinery margins.” It then discussed how major refiners were closing down their refineries.
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/fs/5103.pdf
* Internal Texaco Memo: Describes how the industry’s main concern in the mid-1990s was a “surplus of refining capacity, and the surplus gasoline production capacity.” This caused supply to exceed demand year-round leading to lower profits. The memo highlights that “significant events need to occur to assist in reducing supplies and/or increasing the demand for gasoline.”
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/fs/5104.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
|
CONTACT: Tara McGuinness (Markey) Brandon MacGillis (DeGette) Sonia Melendez (Solis) |