Byron Dorgan: “Let me yield myself 4 minutes. I want to reserve 4 minutes. But let me make a comment. I agree with my colleague from…”

“Let me yield myself 4 minutes. I want to reserve 4 minutes. But let me make a comment. I agree with my colleague from Connecticut. Spirited debate is fine on this floor. I didn't like the representation that was made by our other colleague that somehow what we were proposing here is not only unworthy but part of some cabal that is trying to injure this country and, second, using information that is simply not accurate. The refineries have been closed by the oil companies, not environmentalists. That is a fact. What has happened is when they merged, they closed refineries in order to restrict supply and boost the yields of the refineries. The fact is, we had experts come in. I am talking about experts, I am not talking about politicians. The so- called experts came to the committee. We said, Why are refineries closing? One reason, because their yields are too low and the major oil companies are closing them. That is exactly the case. My colleague from Utah talked about tax breaks he had sponsored for the oil industry. He talked about yesterday he was visiting with an executive of the big oil industry--which is fine. He talked about the price they pay in Europe, $3 or $4 a gallon. The interesting thing is in Europe the money between the cost of oil and the $3 or $4 a gallon doesn't go into the pockets of the oil companies, it goes to build infrastructure in Europe. They collect it in taxes and use it to invest in the infrastructure of Europe.…”