S.Amdt. 4964

1. Adds SEC. 11__. SENSE OF SENATE ON ASSISTING CONSUMERS WITH GASOLINE AND DIESEL PRICES at the end of subtitle D of title XI

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. 11__. SENSE OF SENATE ON ASSISTING CONSUMERS WITH GASOLINE AND DIESEL PRICES.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

   Inserted: (1) consumers are paying more than $2.50 more for a gallon of gasoline or diesel than they paid just 7 years ago, in January 2001, when gas averaged $1.37 per gallon and diesel averaged $1.52 per gallon;

   Inserted: (2) the 5 large integrated oil companies alone tripled their profits during the period of 2001 through 2007, when the profit of those companies increased from $39,000,000,000 to $116,000,000,000;

   Inserted: (3) tax breaks for major integrated oil companies are worth billions of dollars each year;

   Inserted: (4) high energy prices are harming households, the economy, and the competitiveness of the United States;

   Inserted: (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, millions of onshore acres are under lease by the oil and natural gas industry for exploration and drilling, but are not being used for production;

   Inserted: (6) as of the date of enactment of this Act, millions of acres on the outer Continental Shelf are under lease by the oil and natural gas industry, but are not producing;

   Inserted: (7) the major integrated oil companies have failed to invest an adequate amount of the $600,000,000,000 in net profits the companies have collected during the past 7 years on clean and affordable domestically produced renewable fuels that can improve national security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions;

   Inserted: (8) according to Energy Information Administration analyses, the economy-wide carbon cap and trade system under this Act will spur the development of clean alternatives, and average household gasoline spending will decrease by 2020 because of greater fuel efficiency and changes in the fuels market;

   Inserted: (9) even while the Energy Information Administration projects that per-household spending on gasoline will decrease, an increase of less than 2 cents per year per gallon of fuel through 2030 would be attributable to the implementation of this Act--compared to an increase of more than 73 cents per gallon since last year at this time; and

   Inserted: (10) the implementation of this Act will produce cost savings through energy efficiency investments and provide funds for tax relief for consumers.

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   Inserted: (b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) oil companies should be--

   Inserted: (A) investing a significant percentage of their enormous net profits in developing clean, affordable, and domestically produced low-carbon alternatives to petroleum and other finite resources; and

   Inserted: (B) producing more oil and natural gas supplies from existing available leases in environmentally appropriate areas, using the best available and safest technologies;

   Inserted: (2) Congress should suspend royalty relief for major oil companies during times of high prices and use those revenues to assist energy consumers;

   Inserted: (3) Congress should eliminate tax breaks and loopholes for major oil companies and use those revenues to assist energy consumers;

   Inserted: (4) the President should support legislation to make price gouging a Federal crime; and

   Inserted: (5) the Administration should take swift action to implement existing statutory direction to limit energy market manipulation, increase transparency, and protect consumers.

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle D of title XI, add the following:

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As printed