Joe Barton

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the floor the Price-Anderson Reauthorization Act of 2001, H.R. 2983. After several months of hard work, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has produced a bipartisan bill that ensures swift compensation to the public in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident and encourages the future development of nuclear power. Nuclear power currently provides over 20 percent of the Nation's electricity. This bill paves the way for the development of a new generation of smaller, safer and more affordable nuclear power reactors. The bill also extends indemnification to the Department of Energy contractors engaged in important nuclear work at several sites across the country, including nuclear weapons research and nuclear waste cleanup. Without reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act, we could risk losing some of the best contractors that the Department of Energy relies upon. In addition to reauthorizing these important programs, H.R. 2983 also dramatically improves security at our Nation's nuclear power plants in response to the widespread concerns over terrorist threats. I would like to give special commendation to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) for his focus on this part of the bill. To ensure that radioactive materials are transported securely, the bill would also require, for the first time, background checks on all individuals involved in the transfer of dangerous nuclear radioactive materials licensed by the NRC and require manifests to accompany the transfer and receipt of radioactive materials that could pose a terrorist threat. To enhance physical security at nuclear power plants, the bill would require the President to conduct a comprehensive threat assessment for existing nuclear plant security at existing nuclear power plants. The President must report to Congress on what actions the Federal Government will take to address these threats from, and I quote from the bill, ``enemies of the United States,'' including foreign governments. In consultation with the President, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must also revise its design basis threat regulations to ensure that nuclear power plants are adequately protected. Finally, the bill would require that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission periodically evaluate security at nuclear power plants through what are called force-on-force exercises, in cooperation with the industry. In closing, Madam Speaker, I would like to thank a number of Members without whom we would simply not be here on the floor this afternoon. First and foremost is the principal sponsor of the bill, the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), who will speak later on in this debate. She has played a critical role, not only in committee, but also in working out the differences with other committees of jurisdiction. I would also like to thank the ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), who is on the floor and will speak later; the ranking member of the subcommittee that I share jurisdiction with, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), whom I do not see on the floor, but perhaps he will be later. I would also like to thank our full committee chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), who is not here at the moment, but who has been a vital part of the negotiations. I would also like to commend other committee chairmen for their cooperation in resolving some very difficult technical disputes and jurisdictional issues as we brought this bill to the floor; and they are the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary; the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services; and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the chairman of the Committee on Science, who have all played a vital role in this legislation coming to the floor as expeditiously as it has. Madam Speaker, the extensive public protections provided by the Price-Anderson Act work. I am pleased to present a reauthorization bill that extends and improves on those protections. This legislation is by no means a perfect bill; but it is a very, very good piece of work. We will, of course, review the suggestions of the administration, and we will work with the other body as they move their bill in, hopefully, a similarly bipartisan fashion. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Massachusetts can say that; I cannot.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, where I come from, that dog just will not hunt.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield to the gentleman from Alaska.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, my concern and the pilots' concern is about qualification number two, ``the air carrier approves.'' They do not have and I do not have a problem with the air carriers being involved in the discussion about the terms of the Under Secretary of Transportation's approval and the type of the firearm and the training, but they are very concerned that an air carrier would just have the ability to just say no and not allow a pilot who was qualified under the other three sections to carry a firearm. I would ask the gentleman what is his understanding of the ``air carrier approves.''

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the full committee. I want to talk about the ability of our pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit. As I understand it, the section of the bill that deals with that is entitled ``Flight Deck Security'' and I am going to read what I think is the language: The pilot of a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier, an air transportation or intrastate air transportation is authorized to carry a firearm into the cockpit if, number 1, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Transportation Security approves; number 2, the air carrier approves; number 3, the firearm is approved by the Under Secretary; and number 4, the pilot has received proper training for the use of the firearm as determined by the Secretary. Is that the language in the pending bill?

Mr. BARTON of Texas. I want the chairman and the ranking member to know that I disapprove of that. I will work strongly to change it at the appropriate time.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the gentleman, an air carrier could just say no under this language?

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 250) urging the Secretary of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as amended.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution, H. Res. 250, as amended.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today the House is going to consider a very important resolution dealing with our energy security. This is a bipartisan effort; and I would like to publicly thank the ranking member of the subcommittee that I chair, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), the full committee ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), and of course the full committee chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), for their excellent support on this resolution. This is a nonbinding resolution, so it does not require the Secretary of Energy and the President of the United States to move to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; but it is my intent and my hope, and in working with the administration officials the last several weeks, that we will begin to do that. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an important national asset. It was created in the 1970s, after the last Arab oil embargo that was imposed on the United States and the Western democracies by OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. We made a decision as a Nation to begin to stockpile oil so that never again would our economy be held hostage to oil imports. Since that time, we have accumulated as much as 600 million barrels of oil in the reserve. Today, we have approximately 545 million barrels. These reserves are in four sites on the Gulf Coast, two in Texas and two in Louisiana, and each of them has somewhere between 80 and 160 million barrels of oil. The reserve is authorized to have a capacity of 1 billion barrels. It does not have that capacity in place. It has capacity to actually store about 700 million. As I said earlier, there are 545 million barrels currently in the reserve. We import about 12 million barrels a day. Some of that oil comes from nations that are not friendly to the United States of America; Iraq is a nation that comes to mind. There is a distinct possibility in the next several months as the President pursues terrorists and those that harbor them, we may need to take military action against some of these nations that we are receiving oil imports from, so it would behoove us to have in place the ability to use this reserve and to begin filling the reserve to its full capacity. We could put approximately 155 million barrels of oil in the capacity that we have. The negotiations and the work that we are doing right now with DOE officials and Bush administration officials would be to take oil in kind from the Federal OCS. We could receive approximately 170,000 barrels per day and put that oil into the reserve. There would be no out-of-pocket cost to the U.S. Treasury if we did that; and in doing that kind of swap, we should be able to get to 700 million barrels without any extraneous expense. If we want to go to the 1 billion barrels, if the reserve is authorized, we will need to appropriate funds to build additional capacity, and we may need to appropriate funds to purchase oil. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us indicates if we need to purchase oil we give preference to marginal wells or stripper wells, as they are called in the Southwest. These are wells that produce less than 10 barrels a day. The last time we had an oil price collapse several years ago, we lost between 500,000 and 1 million barrels of stripper well production that will never come back. This resolution would encourage the Secretary of Energy to give preference to marginal well purchases. It is authorized by law that we purchase marginal well domestic oil. This would give preference to those purchases. We think if we could purchase some of this oil, we could buy it at a very inexpensive price. The acquisition cost in the reserve today is about $27 a barrel. The world oil market price is around $20 a barrel. When stripper well prices fall below $15 or $16 a barrel, they begin to be shut down. If we subtract the royalty and the taxes that they are paying, the severance taxes, stripper well prices are already at that $15 a barrel price. It is not demanded by this resolution that we purchase oil for the reserve from marginal wells, but it is given a preference. Mr. Speaker, I feel very strongly that it is in our national interest to have the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a state of readiness. I can state to the Congress, I toured one of the sites at Big Hill down by Beaumont, Texas last week. Their security was excellent. Their operational capability was 100 percent. They told me that they could begin pumping within a day of the President giving the order to do it, perhaps within hours if given the order to do it. Ironically, they said that they would not be able to start drawing down the oil that quickly because of the paperwork requirements. Because of senior officials in the DOE and the need to do a bidding process, it might take 14 to 15 days before they could actually draw down the oil. But operationally, they could draw it down immediately. Mr. Speaker, this is a very, very good resolution. It has passed the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality with the full support of all members on both sides of the aisle. The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) have agreed to bring it straight to the floor without going to the full committee because of the cooperative nature of the resolution. I hope that we can adopt this by unanimous consent. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers so I am going to wrap this up quickly. I thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Baldacci) for his excellent work in the last Congress on the Refined Products Reserve. That reserve is in place. We have checked with DOE officials, and it is full. It is ready to be utilized if there is a shortage of fuel oil this winter in the Northeast. Hopefully there will not be. It is another example of the fine bipartisanship that we have on this subcommittee and the full committee. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) worked with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), and others on the Republican side to move that legislation in the last Congress. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to belabor the point on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Suffice it to say it is another tool in our country's arsenal as we go after terrorists. We do not want to give any terrorist anywhere in the world the idea that they can blackmail us economically by shutting off our oil supply. We have invested so far in the reserve approximately $15 billion in 1998 dollars. For a very small incremental cost, we can fill the reserve to its full 1 billion barrel capacity, and it will be available to be used by the President of the United States if he sees fit to utilize it to protect our economy. Mr. Speaker, I hope we can pass this with all yeas and no nays, to send a very strong signal to our potential enemies around the world that we are not only ready to fight terrorism diplomatically and militarily, but we are also ready to use our economic might if we have to. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Commerce be allowed to file a supplemental report on the bill H.R. 3016.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York, the distinguished member of the Committee on Rules, for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, D-FW airport, except for one runway, is totally within the Sixth District of Texas, which happens to be the district that I am privileged to represent. There were over 40,000 American Airlines and Delta Airlines and various other airline employees that work at that hub airport. We know the tragic events that happened on September 11 in which four American flag carriers, two Delta and two American Airlines, went into the Trade Center, the Pentagon, or into the countryside in Pennsylvania. At D-FW as we speak, it is an airport that is operating at less than 50 percent capacity. The flights that go in that airport are operating about at about 30 percent capacity. American, United, and other airlines have laid off tens of thousands of people this week. This is not the time to argue about the perfect airline relief bill. We have a very reasonable bill before us. It has been hammered out in negotiation between the minority, the majority, the airline industry, the airport associations, and the White House. We need to get the bill on the floor. The first thing we have to do is pass this rule. Then we have to pass the second rule. Then we have to pass the bill. I have an airport security task force at D-FW that has been operating for over a year and a half to come up with a series of recommendations about how to increase airport security. Most of those recommendations, until last week, dealt with increasing security to prevent illegal drugs from going through our hub airports, but many of them are applicable to terrorism. I am very willing to continue the dialogue with the Department of Transportation, the FAA, and all the other interested parties, but I am not willing to get into a contest where we refuse to bring up absolutely necessary legislation. I would urge my colleagues, let us pass this rule, let us pass the second rule, and then let us pass the bill. If we need to come back in a month, 2 months, or whatever, let us do it, but let us not take an industry that is on its knees and force it to be flat on its back. Let us help the airlines and the economy. Pass these rules and pass this bill.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, my office has been besieged by literally thousands of phone calls from workers at D-FW Airport. They have not identified themselves as Republicans or Democrats or union members or nonunion members, and in almost every case, they said, I am a flight attendant, I am a baggage-check-in person, I am a maintenance worker, and I need help. This is the chance for us to help. This is not a perfect bill, but it is excellent, an excellent first start. All these people that have been calling my congressional office, and D-FW is 10 miles from my office, they are not asking about an unemployment package or a liability package. Do Members know what they are asking about? ``Help protect my job,'' J-O-B. That is the best unemployment package we can do. As has already been pointed out, we have laid off over 100,000 airline workers in the last week. We know how inconvenienced we are as a Congress because Reagan National is closed. What happens if Atlanta closes, LAX, closes, O'Hare closes, Boston closes, LaGuardia closes? There is the very real possibility, if we do not pass this package tonight, in the next month we may see some of that start to happen. I would beg every Member of this body, let us do what the other body has done: Let us pass this with almost no ``no'' votes, or perhaps even 435 to zero. Let us help the airline industry now so they can help the economy and keep these jobs growing, and keep our economy growing. I would urge a yes vote on this bill.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Commerce be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 238) condemning any price gouging with respect to motor fuels during the hours and days after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we also want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), and all of the other minority members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce for working with the majority on this resolution. Mr. Speaker, this resolution puts the House on record in condemning any acts of price gouging in gasoline or other motor fuels occurring after Tuesday's tragic events. Since Tuesday, there have been widespread media reports about gas stations in some parts of the country jacking up gas prices to as much as $6 per gallon, more than a 300 percent increase. While America sat stunned and friends and relatives wondered about the well-being of their loved ones, while parts of the country struggled to evacuate government buildings and tourist attractions, while our Nation's emergency response crews mobilized, some vendors were trying to line their own pockets. If this activity is not illegal, it is certainly disgraceful. This resolution, on a bipartisan fashion, condemns price gouging, wherever it exists. Although prices may have returned to normal, and in most cases prices never escalated, the fact is, the potential remains for consumer abuse. This type of behavior undermines consumer confidence and contributes to public uncertainty during times of crisis, and must not be tolerated. This resolution calls on State and Federal agencies to investigate allegations of price gouging and to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any violations of the law. There has been no disruption in our Nation's fuel supply. Production is up, stocks are full, and distribution is operating at normal levels. There is no reason, I repeat, there is no reason to jack up prices. We will get through this crisis intact, and America will be stronger than ever. Tuesday, September 11, was a day of decision. International terrorists decided to test America's will, and Americans decided to defeat them once and for all. This is not a time to let deceptive gasoline dealers double-deal the American people. Mr. Speaker, I hope that we can pass this resolution by unanimous consent.

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I hope we can pass this resolution by unanimous consent. General Leave

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.Res. 238.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, tragic Tuesday, which occurred yesterday, is one of those days that is going to go down in history as a ``Where were you?'' I was not alive on December 7, 1941, but for those who were, it was one of those ``Where were you on December 7, 1941'' days when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I was alive in November of 1963. In fact, I was in the eighth grade in Innis Junior High School when President Kennedy was assassinated less than 50 miles away in Dallas outside the School Book Repository Building. I was alive in July, 1969 when the first man, a United States astronaut, landed on the Moon. Obviously, I was alive yesterday when the tragic plane attacks hit the Trade Center and the Pentagon, and then the plane crashed in Pennsylvania. So that is one of those ``Where were you'' days. The question before the Congress today, the Presidency, and to some extent the American people, is what are we going to do about it. There has been a lot of talk on the floor about the cowardly act. Well, it is cowardly in the sense that our attackers did not warn us and they did not declare war on us in the classic sense, they just hijacked the planes and attacked civilian targets in New York and the military target here in Washington. But it was not cowardly in the sense that the people that perpetrated it were cowards; just the opposite, they were probably very religiously committed, willing to die for a cause that they believe in. And however many there were that died yesterday, we have to assume that there are more who are willing to die in the future. So if we are really serious about a war against terrorism, we need to think about that. I am very committed to bringing the perpetrators, either eliminating them with military action or capturing them and taking them through whatever the legal system is, if that is appropriate. But if we are going to declare war, let us really think that through and be prepared to do what it takes.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act. As the name implies, this bill will preserve a vehicle owners' freedom to choose where, how and by whom to repair their vehicles as well as their choice in car parts. Right now, thousands of vehicle owners who are being turned away from their local repair facility. They are being denied the choice of working on their own vehicles, or the choice of replacement parts because information necessary to make these repairs or integrate replacement parts with the vehicle computer system is not readily available or not available at all. This isn't the way it used to be. Until recently, this information was either not necessary or widely available. But language in the 1990 Clean Air Act mandated that vehicle manufacturers install computer systems in vehicles 1994 and newer to monitor emissions. This law had the unintended consequence of making the vehicle manufacturer the gatekeeper on who can repair, or produce, replacement parts for the vehicle. This lack of consumer choice will have a huge negative economic impact. An economic study examining this lack of choice's effect on California vehicle owners concluded that motorist repair bills in California alone would increase by 17 billion through 2008. Nation-wide this would equate to a huge tax increase on the American people and severely hurt low and fixed income motorists. I believe that most vehicle owners who have for years taken for granted that any qualified repair technician of their choice, including themselves, may repair their vehicle have relied heavily on the quality, cost and convenience of the competitive independent aftermarket parts will be surprised to find that in many cases it no longer exists. With this legislation, we put the motor vehicle owner back in the driver's seat.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to call a time-out on some of our other debate for today and bring to the attention of my colleagues a young girl, 6 years old, named Emily Kim. Emily is very bright, very beautiful, and unfortunately, she is dying of leukemia. This spring doctors gave her and her parents only 6 months for her to live. There is still hope, though. A bone marrow transfusion could save her life, literally, and doctors are hoping to find a bone marrow donor, a genetic match that is almost like finding a needle in a haystack, 1 in 100,000. It is even tougher because Kim is an Asian American, and not many Asian Americans have signed up with the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. So I am calling on my colleagues to contact their constituents in the Asian American community and ask them to take a simple test to see if they might be that one-in-a-one hundred thousand donor match for young Emily. You must be 18 to 60 years old and in good health. I know how important this is, because my brother died of liver cancer last year. We could not find a liver match that would have saved my brother's life, but we might save Emily's life. Take a few minutes, go to www.marrow.org, or contact your doctor or local office of the American Cancer Society. Working together, my colleagues, we may yet find that one-in-a-thousand donor match for young Emily Kim.

Mr. BARTON of Texas

Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Chairman, my father was a combat navigator in World War II. He flew a B-24 liberator on 50 combat missions. He won every combat award the Army Air Corps could award except the Congressional Medal of Honor. I am glad he did not win that one or I would not be here. When I got elected to Congress I went to him and I asked him for some advice. I said: Dad, what should I do when I get up there? He said: Son, always pick a good pilot. I said: Pick a good pilot. What do you mean? He said: There are going to be lots of rascals in Washington and they're going to try to flimflam you; but if you've got a good pilot, he'll set the right course and he'll always get you home. Last week the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) was the toast of the town on the liberal side because he was holding out for the Patients' Bill of Rights. He negotiated an agreement with the White House and President Bush which I have looked at this afternoon, it looks pretty good to me, and all of a sudden today he is accused of selling out. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Georgia is a good pilot. I would fly with him anywhere. The day the gentleman from Georgia sells out is the day ``In God We Trust'' that is on the facade behind us falls off that facade. I am with the gentleman from Georgia, I am going to vote for this bill, and I say God bless the gentleman from Georgia, he is a good man.