mr. chairman , the republican energy bill is a license to steal . 
it sanctions big oil 's approach to america 's energy crisis : do nothing except count the monstrous profits . 
profits may be up 400 percent , but this bill allows big oil to earn even more money to add to their current $ 55 billion cash on hand . 
they will earn it at the pump , and they will earn it at the treasury department . 
an accounting gimmick allows big oil to escape paying anything close to its fair share of taxes . 
that is the republican way . 
the democrats propose , and i proposed in the committee on ways and means , something radically different in our alternative energy bill , actually paying for it . 
imagine that , a bill we paid for on the floor of this house . 
we want to eliminate the provision called lifo . 
it means last in first out . 
you buy a barrel of oil at $ 20 , and you buy a barrel 6 months later at $ 50 . 
when you put it out , you use the $ 50 barrel . 
you cut down the profits . 
of course , that is what they do . 
that is the american way of saying to big oil : pay now less , and then pay even less later . 
democrats are proposing something else , investing in the 21st century energy sources . 
we provide a tax credit for new homes that reduce energy by at least 30 percent . 
that benefits americans and encourages a paradigm shift in thinking to produce energy by saving it . 
we will establish an emergency technology trust fund . 
we want to harness the power of our best minds to chart a course of energy independence . 
we want to extend the renewable energy tax credit . 
america needs the power of wind . 
my state is full of wind farms provided by mother nature , and we can harness it . 
democrats see america as strong and free of an addiction to big oil . 
we are addicted to oil ; and as long as we remain addicted to oil , we are not going to get any better in this whole area . 
we see in america where people are not faced with choosing gasoline over food . 
at $ 3 a gallon for gasoline , you are hitting pretty hard on the food budget . 
tonight is a defining moment . 
republicans want americans firmly rooted in the past , relying on fuel sources that make us vulnerable to too many foreign countries . 
democrats envision america firmly and finally looking to the future , embracing a path to independence and freedom . 
vote for america . 
vote for the democratic alternative energy bill that takes this country where it belongs , into the 21st century . 
vote for the bishop-markey-mcdermott amendment . 
