Senate Proceeding on Jul 31st, 2008 :: 5:16:56 to 5:23:59
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5:14:14 to 5:16:56( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mitch McConnell

5:16:47 to 5:16:56( Edit History Discussion )

Mitch McConnell: from illinois is recognized. mr. durbin: before the minority leader, the republican leader leaves, i would like to reconcile the remaining time allotment. i understood that he said we could have extra time

5:16:56 to 5:17:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: in the next segment for democrats to make up for the additional time that was used by the republican side; is that correct? could the chair indicate how much additional time was used by the republican

5:16:56 to 5:23:59( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

5:17:07 to 5:17:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: side.e the presiding officer: 10 minutes and 10 seconds. mr. durbin: if i could ask then the next segment be 40 minutes on the democratic side and then return to 30-minute segments on each side. the presiding

5:17:25 to 5:17:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: thank you very much. madam president, for those who are following this debate, it is interesting because a friend of mine i used to work for in

5:17:38 to 5:17:53( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: politics as a young man used to say when politicians speak, there is a good reason and a real reason for the things that they're saying. the good reason for the position taken by the republicans is that

5:17:53 to 5:18:03( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: they believe that more oil put on the market is going to mean more supply and lower prices. it is intuitive to us in the supply-and-demand economy that that make sense on its face. and so their pillar of

5:18:03 to 5:18:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: their argument on the energy policy is we just have to find more places to drill. we don't have enough places to drill for oil now. if we could just find more oil there, would be more gasoline and

5:18:19 to 5:18:30( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: gasoline prices would come down. the logic is good but it fails to tell the whole story. it fails to account for 68 million acres of federal land currently leased by oil and gas companies that they

5:18:30 to 5:18:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: haven't touched. they have paid the federal government tore this land to go drill for oil and -- for this throond go drill and oil and done -- land to go drill for oil and done nothing. the republicans

5:18:40 to 5:18:53( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: never measure the 68 million acres out there that the oil companies aren't using. there's a second thing they never mention. if we decided today to start drilling for oil on the mall -- and sometimes i think

5:18:53 to 5:19:03( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: from the speeches here on the floor, a few people might be for that -- but if weecided to drill, they think it takes 8 to 14 years before you put the oil well into production. 8 to 14 years. and as you're

5:19:03 to 5:19:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: saying for your gasoline each week and somebody says, hey, hang on, in 14 years we're going to get this under control. you have a right to be a little impatient. but that's the republican approach.

5:19:17 to 5:19:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: so who would buy this approach? well, the people who are buying th approach, the real reason behind the position on the republican side, this is the oil companies' agenda. this is the oil companies'

5:19:28 to 5:19:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: answer: keep drilling, give us more land, give us more options, let us put these in our portfolio. the same oil companies that are reporting not just record-breaking profits for oil companies but

5:19:38 to 5:19:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: record-breaking profits for american businesses. no business in our history has ever reported the profits that they have reported. shell reports a profit jump despite reducing production of oil,

5:19:52 to 5:20:06( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: their profits have gone up. shell went up 33% this quarter. exxon, 14%. record-breaking profits for these oil companies and the position that they hold coincidentally is the same position as the republican

5:20:06 to 5:20:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: party in the senate. but an honest energy picture, one that looks forward says we need responsible exploration and production -- that means we don't go into environmently sensitive areas, we don't pollute

5:20:25 to 5:20:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: our beaches and our shore communities, we do the safe and the right thing, but we produce oil and gas as we can in this country realizing that the entire inventory of oil in america represents 3% of the

5:20:38 to 5:20:49( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: global supply of oil. 3%. and that we consume 25% of the oil. we cannot drill our way out of this. we've got to look beyond that. we've tried to do that. twice this week we've brought an energy

5:20:49 to 5:21:01( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: policy bill to the floor. twice this week the republicans defeated it. they refused to vote for an are energy policy that is comprehensive, that has not just exploration and production in it but looks to

5:21:01 to 5:21:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: things that really are our future. more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. we can't keep driving these gas hogs. we have to drive cars and trucks that are sensible, that meet the needs of our families

5:21:16 to 5:21:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and our economy and don't consume so much gas. i think my kids and my grandkids will be using plug-in hybrid cars. they will wonder why their old man used to use so much gasoline when he was growing

5:21:28 to 5:21:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: up because they will have found ways to do it without gasoline, without diesel fuel by using these batteries, hybrids. that's the future. that's what we asked the republicans to vote for and they

5:21:38 to 5:21:50( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: refud. we asked them to join us and create tax incentives for solar power and wind power and geothermal sources, all of which can serve our economy, serve our businesses, serve our families and not create

5:21:50 to 5:22:02( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: global warming. they refused. time and again the only thing they'll vote for is the oil company agenda. well, the oil companies are pretty powerful. you may see some of their folks walking the halls

5:22:02 to 5:22:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: out here. pretty nice suits and shoes. can't miss them. but that isn't the future. that's the past. they have done their part. they'll continue to play a role, a major role, but the future is a future

5:22:16 to 5:22:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of vision, looking for clean energy and good-paying jobs right here in america, creating the kind of industry where we can have growth in manufacturing jobs so that families across our country have an

5:22:26 to 5:22:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: opportunity. the republican view and the democratic view is quite different. and when we offered them a chance to come together, they refused, they wouldn't do it. the last bill that they defeated not

5:22:37 to 5:22:48( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: only had the energy provisions i mentioned, it had a lot of other important provisions. there was disaster assistance for the poor people in iowa. there was $ billion to put in the highway -- $8

5:22:48 to 5:22:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: billion to put in the highway trust fund so we can reduce congestion on our highways and create construction jobs across america. it even included the wellstone mental health parity act. paul wellstone

5:22:59 to 5:23:08( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of minnesota passed awa about six years ago, and this was his passion. and we've never passed this bill. we've got to pass it now so that your health insurance covers mental illness as it covers physical

5:23:08 to 5:23:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: illness. they voted against that too. it was all part of the same bill. it is unfortunate we have reached this point but that's the point we find ourselves. the final word in this debate is going

5:23:17 to 5:23:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to object november 4 and the sloarts have it. and if the voters believe we need to look backwards to the oil company agenda, they can agree with our republican friends. but if they believe that

5:23:29 to 5:23:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: we need to look forward with responsible exploration and uks -- production but incentives for renewable energy that brings us into the 24th century in leader shirntion i hope they'll consider --

5:23:36 to 5:23:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: leadership, i hope they'll consider voting for those who brought that to the floor. and i yield the floor. mr. salazar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado is recognized.

5:23:46 to 5:23:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: mr. salazar: mad am president, i wa, nt to just make a few dmoants clarify some of the colloquy that -- comments to clarify some of the colloquy that won't and what i consider to be some of the distortions

5:23:59 to 5:24:09( Edit History Discussion )

Ken Salazar: that were spread. first, there is a misconception i think that the minority side is trying to spread that democrats are against drilling. if you go on my state in colorado, you will find tens of thousands

5:23:59 to 5:27:16( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ken Salazar