Senate Proceeding on Jun 26th, 2008 :: 5:54:51 to 6:08:23
Total video length: 9 hours 29 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Download OptionsEmbed Video

Views:77 Duration: 0:13:32 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

5:44:42 to 5:54:51( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: James Inhofe

5:54:40 to 5:54:51( Edit History Discussion )

James Inhofe: and there when it is the most devastated of all 52 countries of subsaharan africa. i thank my friend for allowing me to go. mr. durbin: it is my understanding the senator from pennsylvania is

5:54:51 to 5:55:03( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: now under a previous consent, going to be recognized, and it is my understanding that the senator from rhode island, senator whitehouse, would like to follow him. i would like to make a unanimous consent

5:54:51 to 6:08:23( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Robert P. Casey, Jr.

5:55:03 to 5:55:18( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: request that following both senator casey and senator whitehouse i be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the senator from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. casey: madam president,

5:55:18 to 5:55:32( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: thank you very much. i rise today to talk about a problem that so many of our families are facing and so many of our businesses. that is the problem of rising gas prices. unfortunately, we've seen in

5:55:32 to 5:55:45( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: the last year an increase of at least $1 at the pump if just one year. like a lot of my colleagues in the senate i received a letter from a woman in pennsylvania, 86 years old, from bucks county, pennsylvania.

5:55:45 to 5:56:04( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: she talked about the great depression when she was describing how people had nothing and how worried she was about our current economic crisis. especially in light of these gas prices. she reminds us

5:56:04 to 5:56:15( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: that just as in the great depression we needed to have commonsense solutions to dig ourselves out of that economic trauma for so many peoples today -- whether gas prices, the price of health care or

5:56:15 to 5:56:36( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: mortgage foreclosure crisis, we do need commonsense solutions. we don't need more gimmicks, we don't need more partisan bickering, we need commonsense solutions. and those solutions on gas prices

5:56:36 to 5:56:51( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: are not a manualic -- magic wand. there are things that we can do to aleast begin the process -- to at least begin the process or go down the road of bringing the prices down. we've got to move

5:56:51 to 5:57:07( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: in a direction that focuses on short-term solutions as well as long-term solutions. short-term and long-term solutions. in particular, ihink we should focus on one problem, and i think there is some bipartisan

5:57:07 to 5:57:20( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: agreement on -- speculation in the oil futures market. we have never seen it like it is now where profiteers from places in this country but also from around the world literally make money -- in some cases

5:57:20 to 5:57:35( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: millions of dollars -- every time that price of gasoline goes up. we have to bring discipline, accountability, and transparency, to the marketplace. so speculation is one area where we need to have

5:57:35 to 5:57:49( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: legislation. that would help more short term than long term. how about big oil? they have a role to play. by one estimate the fe biggest oil companies over five years have seen their profits go

5:57:49 to 5:58:08( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: up by five times. i don't think there are many families in america who have soup their bottom line, their family income, go up by five times over five years. big oil has seen that. in the face of record

5:58:08 to 5:58:22( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: profits, just since 2001 their profits have increased over $600 billion. now, if their profits are going up at that rate since 2001 and if the price of gasoline under this administration went up from

5:58:22 to 5:58:37( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: $1.46 to $4 and on top of all that, in addition to the oil company profits the congress, the period of congress, i should say, favor them $17 billion in tax breaks, something's wrong. this is beyond

5:58:37 to 5:58:55( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: inequitable. it's just bad policy. it's not working. what we're seeing is the status quo. keep giving oil company tax breaks, hope that their hearts are big enough to help us and it will all work

5:58:55 to 5:59:05( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: out. that hasn't happened. it will never happen to light of what we see in recent history. it's about time if big oil to do something as president weapon difficult --president kennedy implored, do

5:59:05 to 5:59:19( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: something for your country at a time of record profits for them and pain at the pump and the economic squeeze so many families and small businesses face. so what can we do? well, a couple of things.

5:59:19 to 5:59:32( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: first of all, we could enact legislation like the legislation that i proposed in 2007, way back in the intring of in the spring of 2007, the energy security and oil company accountability act that

5:59:32 to 5:59:45( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: basically does two things. i will describe it quickly. firsof all, end the tax breaks for big oil. theyave gotten enough. we haven't seen any results for the tax breaks. end the tax breaks and other

5:59:45 to 6:00:03( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: credits our government gave them and use the savings to our government not just to sit there but use those savings to invest in research and development on alternative fuels andhe infrastructure we need

6:00:03 to 6:00:14( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: to bring alternative fuels to the marketplace and to help us with our energy challenges.~ number two under my legislation is impose a windfall profits tax on big oil and use that sings to redirect

6:00:14 to 6:00:25( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: those dollars for relief for our families, especially low-income families, who are trying to make ends meet, they're trying to pay foor health care, they're trying to pay for a mortgage, they're

6:00:25 to 6:00:37( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: trying to pay for education, and on top of that they're paying four bucks a gal -- gallon at the pump or more for gas. it's about time the oil companies helped us in this process. so my legislation would

6:00:37 to 6:00:49( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: do those two things. i was happy that major parts of legislation from 2007 made its way into what the democrats in the senate proposed just a couple of weeks ago, legislation that was block -- blocked

6:00:49 to 6:01:02( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and obstructed by the republicans in the senate. the consumer first energy act -- i'll describe that quickly. it would do a number of things. first of all, getting back to our point about speculation.

6:01:02 to 6:01:11( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: this legislation, the consumer first energy act, would finally at long last do something about market speculation. why should we sit back and just say, you know, gas prices are too high, it's too bad,

6:01:11 to 6:01:20( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: there's nothing we can do about it? there is something we can do about it. in one part of the solution, one part of the scen approach, and i think my colleagues on -- of the scen approach and i think

6:01:20 to 6:01:31( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: my colleagues on the other side of the -- commonsense approach and i think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would agree with this, is we should bring more transparency to these kind of

6:01:31 to 6:01:40( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: actions. these this raw speculation all over the world but even here in america, where profiteers are making money while the pros of gasoline goes up for our families. literally trading in the dark.

6:01:40 to 6:01:54( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: you know, the old expression, "sunlight is the best disinfectant," to take the corruption, which is the best way -- one of the best ways to describe what's happening here here -- to take the corruption

6:01:54 to 6:02:04( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: out of that -- out of that marketplace, we need to apply some sunlight to those market transactions. if the transactions are okay and peep want to make a lot of money, why shouldn't we have -- people want

6:02:04 to 6:02:14( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: to make a loft money, why shouldn't we have information about those transactions? so apply some sunlight and transparency to those transactions. if people are going to make money, they ought to do it in the light

6:02:14 to 6:02:25( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: of day, not under cover of darkness. and if it's so good to do and they want to make money, these profiteers, and do well in the marketplace, well, then we ought to require them to have more stake in the transaction,

6:02:25 to 6:02:35( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: more skin in the game so their margins, what they've got to put down, should be a much higher number. so if they want to make money, we want more transparency on those transactions and we want them

6:02:35 to 6:02:51( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: to put more money down f. they do that -- money down. if they do that, then they will have the opportunity to make money. so the first thing that this legislation does is crack down on speculation.

6:02:51 to 6:03:00( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: the legislation that the senate democrats offered, the consumer first energy act, also made it very clear that at long last, it will be very clear in american law that price gouging is illegal.

6:03:00 to 6:03:11( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: it is, at best, murky right now. we have to be very clear about what price gouging is and what it's not and make it illegal. the other thing it did, this legislation, was adopt the idea that hi

6:03:11 to 6:03:23( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and many others had -- i'm not the only one -- on the issue of the windfall profits tax. basically saying to oil companies, look, you can have -- you can have profits. there's nothing wrong with that.

6:03:23 to 6:03:32( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: but it you're going to have record profits while american families don't have their income going up, you've got to help us. you've got to do, as i said before, something for your country, mr. oilman,

6:03:32 to 6:03:43( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: mr. oil company. you've got to do something to help your country. and if you're diversifying and helping us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, if you're giving us options to reduce our dependence

6:03:43 to 6:03:59( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and have a long-term energy strategy, then maybe the the -- the profits tax on your company won't be as high. but if you're just going to turn a blind eye to this problem and say, you can make

6:03:59 to 6:04:10( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: record profits and not help, then we're going to impose a tax on you and make sure that you're doing your share. especially when the oil companies have made $600 billion since 2001. $600 billion.

6:04:10 to 6:04:24( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: there's other -- there are other parts of the consumer first energy act that i wouldn't go into in the interest of time, but there are things we can do. and these are short-term strategies but the long-term

6:04:24 to 6:04:35( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: solution here we know is -- is committing ourselves to an energy future, energy independence. and that means investing dollars, using the tax code, using incentives to do what americans do best. when

6:04:35 to 6:04:44( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: americans have an opportunity to use their brainpower and their innovation and their ingenuity to help on a problem, we've got to make sure that our government is backing them up. and we're not

6:04:44 to 6:04:56( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: doing nearly enough to invest in the new technologies, whether it's clean coal technology, whether it's investing in biofuels, all kinds of alternatives and renewable sources of energy. our government's

6:04:56 to 6:05:06( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: not doing enough to incentivize the marketplace to come up with solutions long term so we don't face this problem in the future. i want to address, before i conclude, a couple of arguments. one

6:05:06 to 6:05:16( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: of the arguments that we hear time and again is about drilling. over and over and over again, we hear about -- about drilling from some people near washington, some peer here in this -- people here

6:05:16 to 6:05:27( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: in washington, some people here in this body. i don't think many people believe the basic argument that we can drill our way to energy independence. no one really believes that, but the argument is made

6:05:27 to 6:05:41( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: over and over again. so i think they're -- in the interest of putting facts on the table, we ought to put a few on the table right now. here's some fact that are important in debate we can just drill

6:05:41 to 6:05:53( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: our way and all our problems will go away with gas prices. fact number one -- 79% of america's recoverable oil reserves are already open for drilling. 79%. america has 3% of the world's oil reserves

6:05:53 to 6:06:09( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and that's not nearly enough to impact world oil prices. we have 3% of the reserves yet we consume 25% of the world's oil. so there's no way, no matter what we do on drilling, that we can drill our

6:06:09 to 6:06:25( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: way out of this. fact number three, oil companies already have access to 45.5 million acres. 45.5 million of federal land to drill for oil and natural gas. they should tell us why they're not drilling

6:06:25 to 6:06:40( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: in those areas. oil companies -- fact number four -- are only drilling on 29 29 -- or, i'm sorry, 21% of the leases they currently have offshore in federal waters. why is that? mr. oil company, why aren't

6:06:40 to 6:06:53( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: you you -- why aren't you drilling on more than 21%? and the last fact, oil companies have refused to invest in refining capacity. they've lost 4% of refining capacity since 2001. so since 2001,

6:06:53 to 6:07:05( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: remember those profits i talked about? since you were making, oil companies, $600 billion in profits since 2001, why did you lose 4% of refining capacity? and why are you crying crocodile tears

6:07:05 to 6:07:20( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: now that you need more land when you have all those acres? these are questions that the oil companies should answer and these are facts that are not making their way into the debate. so, madam president,

6:07:20 to 6:07:31( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: i think we have not a magic wand to propose but we have short-term relief we can provide and long-term strategies to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, to literally not just commit ourselves to an energy

6:07:31 to 6:07:43( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: future that's good for our families and for our -- our country, but this is about national security in the end. because unless we can do that over time and unless we commit ourselves to thee strategies,

6:07:43 to 6:07:59( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: we are not -- these strategies, we are not only going to be dependent on other countries for our oil, but we will be less and less safe because of that dependence. so i think it's critically important

6:07:59 to 6:08:10( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: that we take action instead of blocking legislation, as happened earlier this month, on so many of these short- and long-term solutions. and with that, madam president, i thank you, and i yield the floor.

6:08:10 to 6:08:23( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island is recognized. mr. whitehouse: thank you, madam president. before i discuss for a moment the foreign intelligence surveillance

6:08:23 to 6:08:36( Edit History Discussion )

Sheldon Whitehouse: act, i would like to applaud my colleague, the distinguished senator from pennsylvania, for his remarks. in the year and a half we've served together in this body, he has stood out as a powerful advocate

6:08:23 to 6:17:18( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Sheldon Whitehouse