Political Quotes

“I opposed the amendment of my friend from Vermont. Although I understand his frustration and his intentions, I could not agree with the effects of the amendment. Over the years, as chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, I have supported policy reforms in taxation of oil and gas income. Many times, the major oil firms have registered their objections. Also, in the area of corporate taxation, I pushed hard to curtail a practice that oil firms used to erode the U.S. tax base. That practice, known as corporate inversions, was curtailed in the 2004 FSC-ETI legislation. I re-doubled my efforts to make the reform applicable to four oil service firms but was rebuffed by the House of Representatives' leadership in the years 2004-2007. Chairman Baucus and I have been careful to not impair tax incentives for independent, smaller producer oil and gas production. We have differentiated the availability of these incentives for smaller producers and made clear that major oil and gas producers did not receive many of these incentives. The amendment of my friend from Vermont blurs that line and would adversely affect domestic production. We need to ensure an adequate supply of domestic oil and gas to keep the price at the pump down. Together with incentives for alternative fuels, line ethanol and biodiesel, and conservation, these small producer incentives with hopefully reduce our reliance on imported oil. Chairman Baucus joins me in this view.”