Henry Waxman: “I am releasing today an important report. It is titled Hitting the Jackpot: How the House Energy Bill (H.R. 4) Rewards…”

“I am releasing today an important report. It is titled Hitting the Jackpot: How the House Energy Bill (H.R. 4) Rewards Millions in Contributions with Billions in Returns. Mr. Speaker, what this report indicates is that the cumulative value of campaign contributions from coal, oil, gas, nuclear and electric utility industries in the 2000 election cycle was $69.5 million. The cumulative value of the tax breaks and subsidies for these industries in this energy bill comes to $36.4 billion. If campaign contributions are viewed as a form of investment in the legislative process, the rate of return on this investment is an astounding 52,200 percent. Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that the majority sets the agenda, and they set an agenda that gave away $2 trillion in tax cuts earlier this year. They are now going to give away $36 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the energy special interests. We have a rule before us that will not provide for an opportunity to move to strike these provisions. The American people ought to understand that this is not a balanced bill. This is a special interest bill. It appears to include rewards for the campaign contributions from the energy industry. Boy, are they getting a good return on their money.”