mr. chairman , i rise in opposition , strong opposition to this bill . 
my colleagues have outlined the many problems with it . 
it does nothing to impact gas prices . 
in fact , according to the energy information agency , it will raise prices at the pump . 
it gives billions to industries with already-soaring profits , and it weakens a host of environmental laws . 
mr. chairman , one provision epitomizes the bill 's failures . 
h.r. 6 grants liability protection for people who make mtbe who are responsible for polluting groundwater in dozens of states , leaving hundreds of communities saddled with billions of dollars in cleanup costs . 
supporters claim it is fair to protect mtbe producers from liability since congress mandated its use in the clean air act , but there is no mandate for mtbe and even the chairman of the committee has acknowledged as much . 
in fact , 120 million barrels were added to gasoline before the clean air regulations were ever issued . 
most damning , documents unearthed in court cases show that manufacturers knew the dangers mtbe posed to groundwater , and they still added it to gasoline . 
the result is what we have today , over 1 , 800 contamination sites in 29 different states serving 45 million americans . 
i wanted to offer an amendment to strike this provision because in its wisdom the house leadership would not want to vote on this . 
perhaps it is because too many members on both sides of the aisle represent districts with bad mtbe problems in places where lawsuits are pending . 
because of the mtbe provisions alone , we should reject this bill . 
