Nick Rahall: “Mr. Speaker, the latest edition of Business Week notes that ``$2 a gallon gasoline have given the oil companies a…”

“Mr. Speaker, the latest edition of Business Week notes that ``$2 a gallon gasoline have given the oil companies a Mississippi River of cash flow.'' Big oil is reeling in profit, reaching deep into the pockets of Americans at the pump. What happens in response? Today, the Republican majority wants to reward them with billions of dollars of tax breaks and directed spending that will not improve our energy situation one iota. Indeed, this past February the Energy Information Administration performed an assessment of the pending legislation. It examined the billions in offshore oil and gas royalty relief and various tax credits in this bill and concluded that ``the impact on total primary energy consumption is small.'' That is not me saying that. That is the administration's own Energy Information Administration. So what is the purpose here today? What is the purpose in resurrecting this bloated bill on the floor? The fact of the matter is that there is little in the way of relief for Americans at the gas pump in this bill. Adding insult to injury, the legislation would gouge them even further through a whole host of taxpayer subsidies to energy producers. This is misguided relief. It is not for the consumers. It is not for the consumers, but it is for the multinational corporations drilling for oil and gas in Federal Gulf of Mexico waters by granting them a taxpayer subsidized royalty holiday.”