Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 106 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 106 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 146 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2000 No. 39 House of Representatives The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was TIME TO BREAK THE ADDICTION strained and demand is high, the mar- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- TO CHEAP OIL ket will charge what the market will pore (Mr. BALLENGER). Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, re- bear. A tax cut will simply mean more f cent disruption in oil supply has cre- profit for oil producers and distribu- ated problems with heating oil prices, tors. This is also an invitation for peo- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO costs to truckers for their diesel fuel, ple to manipulate oil supply and prices. TEMPORE and increased gasoline prices. The re- If the United States Congress, led by The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- sponse and the proposed solutions have the Senate, is so misguided as to cut fore the House the following commu- ranged from the ridiculous to the ab- the gasoline price to take the pain out nication from the Speaker: surd, even the destructive. Most rea- of higher prices, even if it would work, WASHINGTON, DC, sonable people agree that the United and there is no evidence that it would, April 3, 2000. States cannot always have unlimited it is simply an invitation for OPEC or I hereby appoint the Honorable CASS supply of oil at the lowest cost in the others to continue manipulation be- BALLENGER to act as Speaker pro tempore on developed world. Such assumptions are cause Uncle Sam will take up the slack this day. not just wrong headed, they are impos- and reduce the pain. It is further ill J. DENNIS HASTERT, conceived because the gas tax now is Speaker of the House of Representatives. sible to maintain and they encourage behaviors that are costly to the Amer- largely dedicated to funding our trans- f ican public. We are, as a Nation, ad- portation infrastructure. MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE dicted to cheap oil. It skews our policy At a time when communities are in the Mideast; discourages develop- struggling to maintain the condition of A message from the Senate by Mr. ment of alternative fuels and energy their roads, wrestling with capacity Lundregan, one of its clerks, an- conservation. It encourages waste, pol- questions and looking for ways to pro- nounced that the Senate has passed lution and the negative side effects of vide support for transit so that the bills of the following titles in which our exclusive reliance on the auto- traveling public has choices, losing $7.2 concurrence of the House is requested: mobile for personal transportation. It billion a year of infrastructure invest- S. 835. An act to encourage the restoration also makes us much more vulnerable to ment will be counterproductive, mak- of estuary habitat through more efficient disruption in oil supply and price ing our problems harder while costing project financing and enhanced coordination of Federal and non-Federal restoration pro- whether by natural market forces, un- us more money. grams, and for other purposes. intended disaster or unfriendly policies How we move and organize our en- S. 2097. An act to authorize loan guaran- from OPEC nations. ergy supplies and their environmental tees in order to facilitate access to local tel- It is important for us to acknowledge consequences has everything to do with evision broadcast signals in unserved and un- that the United States consumes three a community's livability. Instead of derserved areas, and for other purposes. times as much fuel per capita as any pandering to OPEC and playing an f other developed country. Just 5 percent elaborate game of pretend with the of the world's population of the United American public and certainly instead MORNING HOUR DEBATES States consumes over a quarter of the of making the problem worse, Congress The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- world's oil supply, equivalent to West- should be part of the solution. We ant to the order of the House of Janu- ern Europe and Japan combined. For should now have an energy policy in ary 19, 1999, the Chair will now recog- all the hysteria about recent price in- this country. There has been little dis- nize Members from lists submitted by creases, we are still well below the 1981 cussion in recent years. We ought to the majority and minority leaders for high of $2.49 per gallon in today's dol- use this occasion to reexamine our at- morning hour debates. The Chair will lars, and a little over a year ago we had titudes regarding the utilization of en- alternate recognition between the par- the cheapest gasoline prices in our his- ergy. ties, with each party limited to not to tory in real terms. Instead of Congress interfering with exceed 30 minutes, and each Member, Amongst the most unfortunate so- the administration's efforts to increase except the majority leader, the minor- called solutions has been the proposal energy standards for automobiles, we ity leader, or the minority whip, lim- to cut the Federal gasoline tax 4.3 ought to have minimum fuel efficiency ited to not to exceed 5 minutes. cents or more. There is no indication standards for all motorized vehicles. It The Chair recognizes the gentleman at all that a tax reduction will mean is time to stop pretending that pickups from Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 any reduction in price for the con- and SUVs are anything but what the minutes. sumer. So long as supplies are con- vast majority of people use them for, b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1631 . VerDate 20-MAR-2000 01:03 Apr 04, 2000 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A03AP7.000 pfrm12 PsN: H03PT1 H1632 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE April 3, 2000 personal transportation. They ought to policy by threatening a company with Mr. Speaker, the administration's ac- be subject to the same standards as bankruptcy by way of lawsuits. As tion was wrong, and it speaks directly cars. Instead of giving billions of dol- such, I have introduced legislation dis- to the point of my resolution. The Con- lars of extra profit to OPEC and oil dis- approving the use of this heavy-hand- stitution, article 1, section 1, states tributors, if people really think that edness by the administration. This that all legislative power herein grant- government does not need the money, agreement establishes a terrible prece- ed shall be vested in the Congress of we should invest it in the development dent, one that can have enormous the United States. The framers of our of alternative energy sources. Wind, ramifications on our society. Where constitution created this body to for- solar, fuel cells and higher-efficiency will the administration turn next? mulate public policy. What they did vehicles are all ways to cut down on HMOs, utilities, pharmaceutical com- not intend was for the executive our dependence on oil, and especially panies, tobacco companies and maybe, branch to circumvent Congress any oil imports. liquor, beer and wine companies? time it disagrees with our actions. There ought to be a premium placed Mr. Speaker, there is a Washington Furthermore, we in Congress are on energy efficiency in building design Post editorial of April 2, Sunday, which elected to uphold the Constitution and and land use. This could have a huge I will make a part of the RECORD at represent the views of our constitu- impact on energy utilization. Most im- this point. ents, most of whom believe we need to portant, it is time for politicians to [From the Washington Post, Apr. 2, 2000] enforce the 20,000-plus gun laws that stop treating the public as spoiled chil- GOVERNMENT BY LAWSUIT ... are on the books to reduce gun vio- dren who cannot accept the truth or For those who favor robust federal regula- lence. modify behavior. If we treat the Amer- tion of tobacco and strict controls on hand- Now, the administration may use ican public like grown-ups, as full part- guns, as we do, it is tempting to cheer any polling, but 800 or 1,000 people who are use of the courts to circumvent Congress' ners in the development of energy unwillingness to implement common-sense polled is hardly an indication of where strategies and more livable commu- policy. Litigation has caused tobacco compa- Americans all stand on a particular nities, our families and businesses will, nies to improve the way they operate. A re- issue. in fact, rise to the occasion. And our cent deal with gun maker Smith & Wesson, It is well known that any question communities will be more livable, our is, in substance, similarly in the public in- can be skewed towards getting a spe- families will be safer, healthier and terest. cific answer. The administration con- more economically secure. But the process is worrisomeÐprone to abuse. Filing lawsuits is generally speaking sistently presents Americans with a f a bad way to make policy. The government one-sided version with regard to gun violence in this country. Why do we ADMINISTRATION'S COERCION OF has nearly unlimited resources; should it use them, in court, against law-abiding compa- not hear from the administration that SMITH AND WESSON POSES SE- nies that it happens to dislike? Even a weak it has failed to enforce the 20,000-plus RIOUS THREAT TO OUR FORM OF case can be used to bully those who lack the gun laws that are already on the GOVERNMENT resources to fight to the end.