Ed Whitfield: “I would like to remind the gentlewoman that President Obama, through a regulation, decided that diluted bitumen is not…”

“I would like to remind the gentlewoman that President Obama, through a regulation, decided that diluted bitumen is not crude oil for the purposes of the trust fund tax, so the problem was created by President Obama and the IRS. We are in the process of trying to address that issue. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee. In their tax reform package, that is an issue that they are looking at. But if we try to change that now in this bill, we would be treating TransCanada differently than all other pipelines are being treated bringing bitumen into the United States. I would also point out this pipeline's greater safety characteristics. It has more safety characteristics than any other pipeline built. We would think you would want to incentivize its use and not punish it with further taxation. So, in my opinion, while I have great respect for the gentlewoman from California, this is simply a ruse to kill the bill. I would respectfully ask our Members to oppose this motion to recommit and pass H.R. 5682. The Senate has said--Senator Reid has said--that they will take it up in the Senate. That is precisely what we would like to see. I urge defeat of the motion to recommit, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further consideration of H.R.…”