Henry Waxman: “once again I rise to oppose the Republican energy bill. The House has passed this bill several times already and now the…”

“once again I rise to oppose the Republican energy bill. The House has passed this bill several times already and now the majority wants to pass it again. It is time for the majority to face facts. They have overreached and they have failed. The Republican energy bill is stunningly expensive. The total price tag for America is around $140 billion. As the deficit continues to grow, this bill is only getting less affordable. The energy bill is also laden with giveaways to major campaign contributors. The oil and electric utility industries are among the Republicans' largest donors. This bill returns the favor using taxpayer dollars. It would provide roughly $20 billion in subsidies to the oil industry alone. It would also relax Clean Water Act and other environmental requirements for the oil industry. And it would let the oil industry off the hook for contaminating groundwater across the country, forcing taxpayers to pay for the cleanup. The tragedy is that we have real energy problems which are approaching a crisis. The United States' increasing dependence on oil adversely affects our economy, national security and the environment. Polluting and inefficient energy sources are driving potentially devastating global warming. U.S. energy markets are vulnerable to rampant manipulation and price spikes. But this bill would not solve any of these problems. In fact, it would make them worse.”