Phil English

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would hope I wouldn't have to yield any time to determine this.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Is the gentleman prepared to close?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Very well. I will yield 5 seconds.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in that case, I would like to yield 3 minutes to one additional speaker, a gentleman who I think has proven himself in this particular policy area for many years, and I think a good Democrat, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green). (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Does the gentleman have any additional speakers?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to lament a lost opportunity. Mr. Speaker, our friends on the other side of the aisle had promised to produce an energy tax bill that would promote America's energy independence. They had a real opening to produce innovative policies, to incentivize new technologies and promote the diversification of our energy consumption. Instead, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have presented the House with a placebo that will ultimately reduce domestic energy production, give American energy companies less of a reason to invest in exploration here at home, encourage greater dependence on foreign oil, and damage America's manufacturing base. This bill is energy policy light and consists of a dog's breakfast of stale notions clearly intended to appeal to the blogosphere rather than to market forces. The Democrats' solution to America's energy crisis is to single out oil and gas producers for a tax increase. That is a great sound bite. But the fact is, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is not likely to impact oil producers' profits in any way, shape or form. The one thing you can you can be sure this bill will do is raise prices at the pump for American consumers. Furthermore, it creates disincentives that will decrease the supply of domestic natural gas and oil and increase our country's energy imports. While this legislation not only forces our country to become more dependent on foreign oil, it will also force America's working families to bear the brunt of increased energy costs. The more than $15 billion tax increase built into this bill will inevitably be borne entirely by consumers in the form of higher gasoline and home emergency prices. This is vastly, in fact, about double, the tax increase contained in H.R. 6, a staggering sum that will stifle growth and hit working families' bottom line. The effect of high gas prices will ripple throughout the economy, increasing prices on everything from electronics to school supplies. This legislation is also an assault against America's manufacturing base. Using nearly one-third of the Nation's energy both as fuel and feedstock, energy is the heart of American manufacturing. With such an energy-intensive sector, raising energy prices will make domestic manufacturers less competitive in the world market, forcing more of our good-paying manufacturing jobs offshore. Mr. Speaker, we have long advocated for a comprehensive energy plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and increase America's access to clean, affordable and dependable energy for their cars, their homes and their businesses. Yet, here again, Mr. Speaker, this bill is moving in the wrong direction. It throws out our effective incentives for producing renewable energy and replaces them with retrograde policies. In this bill, the Democrats have created a $6 billion slush fund for local projects in States and cities, with no safeguards to ensure that the money is actually used to improve America's energy independence or the environment. This is a blank check for so-called green pork projects all over the country that mayors and governors can dole out like candy on Halloween. But, Mr. Speaker, this is going to be no treat for the American taxpayer. In addition, the wind credit, one of our most proven and effective sources of renewable energy, gets a substantial haircut in this bill and is effectively, under current conditions, gutted. This legislation is bad energy policy. It is bad tax policy. Mr. Speaker, I would hope that our colleagues would join us today in standing up for American manufacturers, for American consumers, and stand up to preserve our domestic energy supply and guarantee our energy future by voting this bill down. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished minority whip of the House (Mr. Blunt).

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Then I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), a distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, is he prepared to close then?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. As a former city controller, I look to a future time when I can bring my friend from Massachusetts up to speed on why with good reason we think there needs to be aggressive auditing and oversight of local governments. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), a member of our committee.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on both sides?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Obviously I am going to reserve the balance of my time at this point.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Can the gentleman enlighten us on how many speakers he has remaining, or is he prepared to close now?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a member of our committee.

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, do I understand the gentleman is now prepared to close?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of our leadership, who is also a member of our committee, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, is it our understanding that the gentleman is prepared to close?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, is it not generally the obligation of the Chair to invite the two sides to even up time to some extent?

Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania. I will defer to the gentleman.