Joe Barton: “We have had a very enlightening debate for the last hour. I would say 30 Members of Congress have stood up and spoken…”

“We have had a very enlightening debate for the last hour. I would say 30 Members of Congress have stood up and spoken either in favor or opposition to the bill. I want it to be noted that a large number of my friends on the Democratic side have risen in support of the bill. I want to compliment Mr. Cuellar for his strong leadership in that area. This is a bipartisan bill. When we do our town hall meetings, Mr. Chairman, person after person stands up and says: Why can't you folks in Congress get along? Why don't you try to be positive? Why don't you try to do what is right for America? Why don't you work together on a bipartisan basis? Mr. Chairman, that is what this bill does. This is a bipartisan bill. We have a large number of Democratic cosponsors and a large number of Republicans. This bill will help all 50 States. As Mr. Bishop and Mr. Scott have stated on the Democratic side, it helps low income, it helps minorities, it helps women. It helps every sector of the economy, not just the oil industry, not just the roughnecks, not just the drillers. It helps truck drivers. It helps steelworkers. It helps refinery workers. It even helps computer programmers. You name it, it helps it. Some estimates are this bill, if enacted, would create as many as a million jobs. We know, for a fact, that the collapse in oil prices in the last year and a half has cost the U.S. economy over 500,000 jobs, 750,000 jobs. Those are real people. That is not Big Oil, Mr. Chairman.…”