mr. holt. we can yield the gentleman a minute and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. holt: mr. speaker, thank you. this bill -- this rule brings forward two bills that are the first of the majority party's amnesia acts which ignore the safety and environmental concerns that were laid bare last spring and summer by the largest oil spill in the united states waters. for the sponsors of this bill, it's as if the worst and most costly oil spill in history never happened. last week the big five oil companies reported $32 billion in profits. that's just for the first three months of this year. yet the majority solution is to protect the billions of dollars of tax breaks each year for these companies. just to give you an idea, exxon pays an effective tax rate of 0 .4%. i imagine every person in america would like to have a tax rate of essentially zero. yet the majority solution is to protect these tax breaks. furthermore, they deem the

mr. holt: -- mr. young: i'd like americans to understand that the issue of whether we should drill or not is long overdue. i've heard this argument for 36 years because i was here when we drilled and opened the trans-alaskan pipeline to provide 17 billion barrels of oil to america. 17 billion barrels of oil. i've heard people say that there's only 2% -- that is a figure that was arrived at in 1955. we have new estimates with new technology, we think we have about 20 pk of the world's reserves in fossil fuels and we're not producing them. i've heard the argument, this wouldn't change the price of gasoline. it's not quick enough. i've heard that 25 years ago. we need to produce so we have a stable supply of domestic fossil fuels, so other countries and speculators don't take advantage. they have us right now in a position they can take advantage because we're not producing any oil of any consequence. in the united states right now. we're down to 600,000 barrels a day in alaska. if we drop much more, we

mr. holt, if you would care to join us and share your thoughts on this most important event, the elimination of the world's greatest mass murderer. mr. holt: thank you, representative garamendi and thanks for setting aside time tonight to recognize work by great patriots. when i heard the news on sunday, my thoughts turned immediately to those harmed by bin laden's vicious attacks on our embassies, ships, planes, world center and the pentagon and the many thousands of deaths caused by the havoc he sowed. our hearts go out to those families. in central new jersey, we lost hundreds and hundreds of people on september 11. but we mustn't forget those who died in the embassies a couple of years before that, those who died in the wars that followed. middletown, new jersey lost more people on september 11 than any other single town except new york city. they went off to work, not understanding that this evil was at play, that mr. bin laden was plotting just the most dastardly thing you could imagine.

mr. holt. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. holt: mr. chairman, i thank my friend from massachusetts. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 1230. this is the first in the republican amnesia acts that ignores what happened last year in the gulf of mexico. it would force the department of the interior to rush into holding new leases in the gulf of mexico and off the coast of virginia, not far from new jersey, i might add, even though congress has not enacted a single piece of legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling. the president's spill commission reported that offshore drilling in u.s. waters is four times more deadly than drilling elsewhere in the world, even for the same companies. clearly there's a safety problem that must be addressed. and i must emphasize because they have talked about it again and again, they are talking about high oil prices, high prices at the pump. we feel it. everybody in america feels it. do they address it? no,

mr. holt: i have amendment number 6 at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 6 printed in part a of house report 112-73 offered by mr. holt of new jersey. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 245, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: the amendment includes language that would add a time line to the permitting practice to offshore oil and gas drilling. this provision states that, quote, if the secretary has not made a decision on the application by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date the application is received by the secretary, the application is deemed approved, end quote. my amendment would simply strike this section. in other words, as it stands in the legislation before us, if for whatever reason, incomplete information, new information, the secretary has not made a decision whether or not to approve the

markey: i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. holt: i thank my friend, mr. markey. this is about big oil handouts, pure and simple. there are no lessons learned, no lessonned applied with regard -- lessons applied with regard to safety or the environment. if these companies were energy companies, as they lake to say, they would invest more in producing sustainable, clean energy. alternatives. in the long run, we all know it, we've got to face the facts, we've got to break our addiction ooil. and if the majority, the authors of this legislation, really wanted to help the motorist the consumers, they would address speculation, they would enthe speculation. they would end the tax giveaway. they would use the strategic oil reserve to short circuit speculation. the oil companies are not energy companies. they are fleecing machines. the greatest profits of any corporation in history and you heard me say a few minutes ago that the biggest of them, exxon, had an effective tax rat

mr. holt, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. mr. lamborn: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lamborn: mr. speaker, families and business withs across the country are struggling with skyrocketing gasoline prices that in many places have already passed $4 per gallon. everyday activities such as commuting to work or taking the kids to soccer practice have strained family budgets, forcing americans to make tough choices and sacrifices. unfortunately rising gasoline prices are not the only energy crisis currently hurting our country. for over a year communities across the gulf of mexico have suffered through a real and a de facto moratorium on offshore drilling imposed by the obama administration. the administration's intentional slow walking of drilling permits has cost 12,000 jobs according to their own estimates. according to a economist, dr. joseph mason this could cost over 36,000 job

mr. holthair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. holt: mr. chairman, hank my friend from massachusetts. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 1230. this is the first in the republican amnesia acts that ignores what happened last year in the gulf of mexico. it would force the department of the interior to rush into holding new leases in the gulf of mexico and off the coast of virginia, not far from new jersey, i might add, even though congress has not enacted a single piece of legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling. the president'spill commission reported that offshore drilling in u.s. waters is four times more deay than drilling elsewhere in the world, even for the same companies. clearly there's a safety problem that must be addressed. and i must emphasize because they have talked about it again and again, they are talking about high oilprices, high prices at the pump. we feel it. everybody in america feels it. do they address it? no, they do not ad

mr. holt: mr. speaker, time and again over the past week i've referred to the majority's trio of offshore drilling bills as amnesia acts. they willfully forget the lessons derived at great cost in lives and livelihoods from the deepwater horizon spill last summer. the speaker pro tempore: will the gentleman suspend? the house will be in order. members are reminded to take their conversations off the floor. the house will be in order. the gentleman may continue. mr. holt: thank you, mr. speaker. and with these amnesia acts the majority offers false promises to americans who are struggling to make ends meet as gas prices continue to rise. the truth is that giving away more of america's -- of the american people's offshore resources to big oil companies will do absolutely nothing to ease the prices at the pump. how do we know? because the oil giants already are sitting on $11.6 -- 11.6 billion barrels of oil in the gulf of mexico world trade center lifting a finger to extract it. if my colleagues real

mr. holt: mr. chairman, i'd like for us to hear now from mr. sarbanes of maryland, one of the most thoughtful members of the natural resources committee. the chair: for how long? mr. holt: two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i oppose the legislation that would really open in a wholesale fashion a very sense fifth areas to offshore drilling. we have to take a lot of care when it comes to doing this offshore drilling. i don't think that this bill exercises that care. during the committee's consideration of the bill, i put forward an amendment that would strike that section of the bill that authorizes drilling off the coast of virginia. i did this because of my concern about the potential impact of a spill on the chesapeake bay, which, of course, is a treasure for marylanders and all those who live in the chesapeake bay watershed. that chesapeake bay is really the soul of my state of maryland. it's a national treasure.

mr. holt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. holt: the house is once again in a rush to make the government's ability to seek all manner of records without having to demonstrate to a court that citizens under suspicion are actually engaged in terrorist activities. the power of government for surveillance and enforcement are among the most important but also the most fearsome. we know these authorities and others as well have been abused because the department of justice inspector general has told us so. i know it because for eight years i served thope house permanent select committee on intelligence. let me tell you, american freedom and security are not well served by the excessive secrecy imposed on our society and government or by this legislation. the foreign intelligence surveillance court, which is responsible for improving government surveillance requests urn the patriot act, is the kind of court that should be used only rarely and in the most special circumstance

. >> i yield one minute to the gentleman, mr. holt. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. holt: over the last two years, america has lost more toops to suicide than combat itself. yes, you heard my correctly. these painful facts were ignored last night when i offered the amendment. this amendment that i offered passed the house previously an would have provided badly kneed suicide prevention services to over 123,000 guard and reserve combat veterans who currently have no established suicide prevention net work. my amendment proposed a tested, effective approach to -- approach to counseling. the message to these veterans is unmistakable. if the intrusive memories of the horrors you have witnessed in war are too much for you and you're thinking of ending your own life, you are on your own. yes, i'ming anly. blocking this amendment is an insult to service members and families who have lost a loved one to suicide. the deliberate exclusion of this -- of this badly needed suicide prevention by itself is a compelling reason to vote against this bill. i yield back my time. the chai

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mr. holt: our first priorities here in the house of representatives must be helping foster job creation and supporting middle class families. yet more than four months into this congress we have not considered one bill, not one bill, that would achieve these goals. instead, we have before us today h.r. 3, one of the centerpieces of the republican agenda. and it would limit the health care choices of women. now, even if all it did is what the name implies, to prohibit federal subsidies for abortion, it would be redundant, unnecessary, and misguided. but it's much worse than that. in truth it's an unprecedented and extreme attempt to limit health insurance coverage for american women to raise taxes on small businesses, to infringe on legally protected rights of american service women, to make this legal, constitutional, and protected medical procedure inaccessible to women. i oppose h.r. 3 and urge my colleagues to vote no and i urge the majority to get to work helping americans to get to work.