John Cornyn: “I come to the Chamber to respond to some of the arguments that have been made by some of our colleagues in support of an…”

“I come to the Chamber to respond to some of the arguments that have been made by some of our colleagues in support of an amendment that would impose a so-called windfall profits tax on crude oil and the use of the tax collected to provide an energy tax credit to consumers. This is an amendment that, while it may make Senators feel good to try to lash out at the oil companies that are making admittedly significant profits, it is the wrong thing to do for reasons I wish to explain. I think we are here representing our various States to do more than make popular arguments. We are here to make arguments that ultimately make sense and benefit the national interests of the United States of America. I believe passing a windfall profits tax would damage America. It would damage our national security by making us even more reliant on imported oil and, conversely, less reliant on domestic oil because there would be less of it. It would essentially confiscate the legally earned profits of a legal business that has actually made less money than other industries that I will talk about in a minute. If we are going to determine in the Congress how much of a profit is too much and how much is not enough, I think we are sending a very bad signal. We are ostensibly believers in the free enterprise system in the United States. Certainly there are examples of gouging and illegal profiteering, but those are at the margins.…”