Pete Domenici: “I don't believe I will use 20 minutes. I am here this morning to ask a few questions and make a few observations about…”

“I don't believe I will use 20 minutes. I am here this morning to ask a few questions and make a few observations about the pending windfall profit tax amendment. I will first explain what I think the amendment is all about. This imposes a windfall profit tax on all oil sold for more than $40 a barrel. The tax would be 50 percent. Every year whatever tax is collected would be divided up among all individual taxpayers as a credit. The only way for a company to avoid the tax would be for it to spend all of its receipts above $40 a barrel on investments qualified by the Government. In other words, we know best. We know where they should invest; qualified investment for things such as pipelines, new drilling, refineries, as long as the drilling is in areas that are not already proven oil and gas property. I don't know what the intention is with reference to oil. Is it to produce more oil or not? If it is, it seems to me an investment of oil of any type that comes out of the ground would be something we should want, but by no means am I suggesting I want to add this list because I believe the whole idea is wrongheaded. I ask a few questions about what I have observed and what I noted is pretty close to right.…”