Ron Wyden: “That is not the amendment that I offer. I will tell the Senator that I am trying to roll back the subsidy program that…”

“That is not the amendment that I offer. I will tell the Senator that I am trying to roll back the subsidy program that is the granddaddy of all of them. This is the one that is going to fleece taxpayers the worst. This is the one that the General Accounting Office says at a minimum will cost taxpayers $20 billion. So the Senator from Florida, who has had a great interest in energy policy and serves on the committee, is talking about something else, but he has made the point again that there are a host of these subsidies. But the billion-dollar program that the Senator from Florida is talking about is peanuts compared to what we are talking about here. What we are talking about here--I see the distinguished Senator from Alaska, Mr. Stevens, is here. He was, I know, a close friend of Senator Johnston, who was the original author of this program. Senator Johnston has said that he didn't intend anything like what this program has turned out to be. Congressman Pombo, the chair in the other body of the natural resources committee, said: You don't need this incentive. Nobody has ever called Congressman Pombo anti-oil. Even the people at Shell Oil say you don't need this kind of incentive in this climate. The Senator from Florida makes a good point that there are a variety of subsidies that go out to oil companies, but the one that the Senator from Florida is talking about is really small potatoes compared to what we are talking about here. I appreciate the question.”