Kendrick Meek: “I can tell you, Mr. Murphy, one of the very important measures that passed today on the House floor was the energy bill…”

“I can tell you, Mr. Murphy, one of the very important measures that passed today on the House floor was the energy bill, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, and I think it is important as we look at this piece of legislation because it is actually paid for, and we pay for it with the subsidies that previous Congresses gave big oil companies, those subsidies they didn't ask for. Well, maybe they did ask for them. I had a chart, Mr. Murphy, in previous Congresses that I used to bring to the floor. I am talking about the meeting Vice President Dick Cheney had in 2001 in his office with all of the major oil executives, and in that chart it showed how profits went up from that point on. 'Profits' is not a bad word, but when you look at it, especially in how the big oil companies increased prices on individuals that were not only paying taxes, U.S. taxpayers that were paying for the subsidies they were getting, but also were paying more at the pump, and it is so very, very important that we identify that and reverse that. This piece of legislation that we passed today actually does that, H.R. 5351.”