Political Quotes

“Let me thank my colleague for yielding. I wish to thank Senator Sanders, Senator Whitehouse, and Senator Boxer, who were on the floor on this issue. I just wish to underscore the point that was just made about having a level playing field, where we have tilted the scales in favor of fossil fuels over renewables. My colleagues have already talked about the direct difference in our subsidies. I would like to add an additional element; that is, when you look at the subsidies we give to the fossil fuel industries, they are permanent. They are in the Tax Code. They do not go through the annual exercise of an extender. What does that mean? That means the lack of predictability in sustainable energy means there is a higher cost for investment. It tilts the scale in favor of oil and gas, rather than on sustainable, renewable energy sources. I would just mention three. The Congressional Research Service did a report on this, just three of the provisions that benefit the oil industry: the excess of percentage over cost depletion, the expensing of exploration and development costs, and the amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures. Just those three provisions that are permanent in our Tax Code, between 2010 and 2014, will cost the taxpayers over $10 billion. We are subsidizing the oil industry, and we should not be doing that. We should be encouraging a transformation to sustainable energy issues as my colleagues have pointed out for the purposes of national security.…”