Joe Barton: “I want to cut to the chase on this issue. In 1981 there were 324 operating refineries in the boundaries of the United…”

“I want to cut to the chase on this issue. In 1981 there were 324 operating refineries in the boundaries of the United States of America. Today there are 148. Do the math: 184 is a smaller number by 176 than 324. There are a lot of reasons for it, but one of the reasons is this flow diagram to my left. To the left we have all of the permits that are required for what is called ``new source review.'' That is if they want to expand an existing refinery. Now, this is actually the permitting application to expand an existing refinery in the State that I live in, the State of Texas. In the new source review, every one of these steps has to go forward. On the right of the chart are additional permits in addition to the new source review. This is not a made-up chart. This is the law as it exists today. What company's board of directors in their right minds would want to go through this process and tie up billions of dollars for years and years if they did not know that they would at least get a definite decision in a timely fashion? The bill before us may not be the best bill. It may not be the only approach. But it is a fact that we use 21 million barrels of oil a day in this country and we only have the refining capacity for about 16 on a good day; and, unfortunately, since Katrina and Rita, we have had many good days.…”