Ed Markey — Senator Markey on Omnibus: Big Oil’s Clean Energy Trojan Horse

mr. president today is a great day to be an oil company in America not since August 27 1859 when Edwin Drake drilled that first oil will well in Titusville Pennsylvania has there been a day is good for the oil industry in our country as today and why is today a great day for big oil well I'll tell you last night at 2am the Republican leadership released its government spending bill and tucked into that bill on page 1865 is a provision that would massively reshape our nation's energy policy tucked into that bill is language that would roll back long-standing US law and allow the oil industry to sell American crude oil overseas for the first time in more than 40 years if this becomes law it means potentially 175 billion dollars in new revenue for the oil industry over the next decade up to 500 billion dollars in new revenues for the oil industry over the next 20 years and that is why this provision is in there it is corporate welfare for the most profitable industry in the history of the world the oil industry and what does this mean for the American people well lifting the ban on the exportation of American oil so it goes overseas rather than staying here in America it will be a disaster for our economy for our climate for our national security for our consumers you remember the old mantra of the Republican Party drill here drill now pay less well now they've changed it then new mantra is drill here export their pay more the oil industry push to export American oil isn't about helping consumers at the pump it's about ping up Big Oil's profits when has the oil industry ever push for policies that would drive down prices and their profits these are for-profit corporations not charitable institutions they're looking to make lots of new money off of selling oil around the world but not here in the United States if we allow this to happen it will be a disaster for consumers in many regions of the country for example the Northeast the Department of Energy has said that losing our refineries on the east coast which could easily happen because of this new law it will lead to higher prices higher price volatility and the potential for temporary supply disruptions in our region right now consumers across America a saving in 2015 seven hundred dollars because gasoline prices are so low five hundred dollars on home heating oil because prices are so low that is a stimulus almost like a tax break in the pockets of working class and poor Americans all across our country exports would wipe out this economic stimulus for average Americans it would begin to lead to the higher prices which the oil industry wants both on the global market and here in the United States of America and the new revenue that the oil industry will collect from exports is not magically created out of thin air it will be transferred from American consumers and our domestic refiners into the pockets of the big oil companies in our country and this could amount to one of the largest single energy taxes in the history of the world remember Saudi Arabia and their OPEC allies they control the global oil trade day control the I sits paid on the global market and recently OPEC suggested oil prices may rise again next year putting in jeopardy the economic benefits that low gasoline prices long low home heating oil prices have provided for average Americans second national security importing our oil while we export our young men and women abroad that's what we have right now we're importing oil from Saudi Arabia from Nigeria from Algeria from Kuwait from Iraq that's what happens every day that's a big reason why we have so many young men and women over in the Middle East protecting those cargo ships of oil coming into our country we still import five million barrels of oil a day China in the United States we're the largest importers we don't have oil to export we're still importing 25% of all of our oil into our country right now and we're importing it from countries we should not be importing that oil from if we have a chance to back out that oil to tell those countries we don't need their oil any more than we need their sand we're doing a big favor for our young men and women in uniform we're allowing ourselves to step back and be more dispassionate in the decisions that we make about our relationships with all of those countries what this decision says is we're going to export our own oil even as we continue to import oil from the Middle East this will only heighten our dependence upon oil coming in from countries that we should not be importing oil from if we have a chance to back it out that's what's wrong with this decision at its heart oil it's not like a widget it's not like a computer chip you don't fight wars over that you fight was over oil that's why Isis targets the part of Syria that it does that's why the part of Saudi Arabia that has the oil is the one that's now being jeopardized by rebels that's why Libya is so valuable and being fought over oil oil oil and the revenues that they produce in order to then create that instability create that jihadism that we're dealing with we should be backing out all the oil that we're importing from that from that region if we have a chance to do so in we do but not after this bill passes we're going to be in a situation where we basically are saying we're going to be permanently dependent upon that oil being imported from that region I listened last night to all the Republican candidates for president debating in Las Vegas about national security well that's what this is all about this is all about that oil this is all about that oil revenue that goes into the pockets of people who should not have our money who spend it in ways that we don't feel good about so in my opinion this decision will dramatically weaken our national security position weaken our ability to be stronger in the Middle East because we're less dependent upon pretty much the only product they make oil and would be able to be able to deal with the national security issues in a much better way being much more clear-eyed dispassionate and protective of American interests and the interests of those were alive with around the world in third this is a tale of two tax breaks one tax break for big oil they get seven to eight billion dollars a year in tax breaks and its permanent permanent what happened in this bill is that the 728 billion dollars for tax breaks for wind and solar then I'll going to be phased out so you hear constantly out here on the floor from Republicans that they believe in all of the above well you can't have all of the above competing fairly if one industry the oil industry gets their 72 eight billion in tax breaks every year and wind and solar the technologies of the 21st century are going to have their tax breaks phased out over the next four to five years that's in this bill so the oil industry gets five hundred billion dollars in new revenues over the next 20 years 140 billion dollars worth of tax breaks over the next 20 years and wind and solar watch their tax breaks evaporate over the next four to five years is that a good deal for America for the climate for our job creation here in America with jobs that are here in America that's not a good deal and by the way big oil wants their tax breaks so they can export the oil out of our country is that a good deal it absolutely is not for the offshore wind industry which has yet to be born we need the tax breaks to incentivize companies wind companies from around the world to come to the northeast to come to this incredible place which has been called the Saudi Arabia of wind well those tax breaks are all going to phase out before an industry is even born the offshore wind industry does that really make any sense if we're going to give the tax breaks to oil we should give the tax breaks to the offshore wind industry we should give the tax breaks to all these renewable industries on a predictable basis for years to come that is not happening in this bill it is just the opposite so financial security for equality in terms of all energy resources but especially those that are non-polluting energy resources there should be a quality but there is not there is not we could have an American with forty percent of all electricity being wind and solar by the year twenty thirty if we kept the same tax breaks on between now and 2030 forty percent the seven percent that we'd add in from hydropower and then the power that comes from a nuclear power in our country would be over sixty to sixty-five percent of all tricity in America being non-carbon polluting by the year twenty thirty but the tax breaks for wind and solar are going away in four to five years does that make any sense no not at all that's what this bill does and that's why this bill has that provision that was inserted late at night a couple of nights ago that's on page 1865 in this omnibus bill now the Koch brothers wrote a letter to all Republicans a couple of days ago they said lift the ban on exploitation of oil out of our country even as we sell input from the Middle East and reduce and kill solar and wind tax breaks good we understand the agenda it's in this bill and it's not good for America it's not who we are it's not this innovation economy which we know is going to have the capacity like we did with cell phones to very briefly in history just move from this kind of a phone in 1996 when it never really existed in people's pockets anywhere on the planet this kind of a phone which uses in people's pockets and now 600 people 600 million people in Africa have it today we did that America we can do the same thing with renewable energy but we need to ensure that those tax breaks are equal to oils for oil is the technology of the 19th century the oil of the 20th century we have to have a vision of what is possible here in the 21st century this bill does not include that that's why it's being added to a must-pass bill it could not pass if it was not in a must-pass bill with unrelated issues unrelated appropriations they need it to carry it through because they could not do it standing alone down here on the floor of the Senate so ladies and gentlemen whether it be the impact on our economy because it is going to drive prices higher well it beyond our national security going to increase our dependence upon imports from the Middle East whether it be the the impact on consumers where they're going to be paying higher prices whether it be the environment where believe it or not by the year twenty twenty-five this is going to lead to upwards of two to three million new barrels of oil per day which is being exported out of our country that's the equivalent of building 150 coal-burning plants in our country and sending those emissions up into the sky and having a bill pass here on the floor of the Senate in the same week that the whole world came together in Paris to sign an agreement saying we were going to have less greenhouse gases going up into the atmosphere and that the United States was going to be the leader you cannot tell the rest of the world to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels while we announced in the next week we're going to change our policy and start drilling for 2 to 3 million new barrels just to export it out of our country in to phase out the tax rates for wind and solar as we tell the rest of the world you should be moving to wind and solar that just doesn't work you cannot preach temperance from a bar stool you cannot preach temperance from an oil rig and tell other countries to move to renewables it just doesn't work that way doesn't work that way they might nod they might say oh don't worry we're still going to honor our commitments but you know behind your back as a country they're just gonna be saying I see what they're doing let's not doing the same stuff we'll build a few more coal burning points well burn more fossil fuels over here if they're not sincere why should we be sis is here if they can preach temperance on Sunday and then on Wednesday say bingo in the church hall well we can do the same thing so I'm just afraid that on every one of these lines of argument this bill just fails environment national security consumers economy she's bad for America bad policy we should feel better about our capacity to innovate I'm especially concerned about wind I'm especially concerned about offshore wind is the reason why we call ourselves a Saudi Arabia of wind it's because we have the potential back out the oil from Saudi Arabia that's why that's our metaphor because we know how much oil they have and how they control the price of oil in the world every single day since 40 years ago when they decided to have their first oil embargo that's when we put this law on the books that we would never exploit our oil again we would keep it here it's 40 years later the Middle East is in chaos it's hard for anyone to even describe what the future for the Middle East is going to be how many of these leaders are actually even going to be in place in five years no one in the world knows but we do have one thing we have our own domestic energy source of oil in natural gas of wind and solar we should keep it here to protect ourselves it'll make us a better partner with the rest of the world if we are totally strong we can project our power diplomatically economically much better when we are an excellent strength so for me this is an historic day I understand what Big Oil wanted to do I understand what the Republicans wanted to do our leader harry reid did his absolute best to get the best deal he could for the renewable energy sources that we have to extend out as long as he could these tax breaks and he did a good job but the pressure was on from the republicans and unfortunately in this agreement the wind and solar tax breaks will expire and wind tax breaks expire very soon so from my perspective we should have this debate out here soon we should have a debate about the Middle East we should have a debate about oil about I national security about our role in the future and it's time for us to have the big debates out here and the big debates are in prime time there with everyone participating and everyone understanding that the rest of this century is it going to be about the United States over in the Middle East whether we like it or not on the day that we invaded Iraq that was our destiny and so let's have those big debates and in the center of that has to be oil and the revenues that are fueling so much of what is happening over there and so I thank you mr.

president for up for giving me the opportunity to speak out here today and with that I yield back the balance of my time thank you