mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman from massachusetts for yielding me this time . 
i rise in opposition to this rule and to the underlying bill . 
the republican majority has brought to the floor a bill that subsidizes the past at the expense of the future , and we should not vote for it . 
i am particularly troubled about the amnesty this bill gives to mtbe polluters and the effect it has on my home state of california . 
in 1990 , the oil industry began adding mtbe to gasoline in order to make it burn cleaner . 
the industry knew that mtbe was a harsh groundwater pollutant and had safe alternatives at its fingertips . 
but the industry used mtbe anyway . 
25 years later , over 18 , 000 water systems in 29 states are infected with mtbe , including three wells in my home district of sacramento . 
making our drinking water clean will cost an estimated $ 29 billion nationwide . 
i think polluters should pay that bill . 
our cities and towns agree . 
not surprisingly , however , the texas-based mtbe manufacturers think they deserve a bailout . 
so they went to their friends in washington , and the republican majority gave them a blanket amnesty for cleaning up their pollution . 
it is unbelievable and our constituents should be horrified . 
mr. speaker , we should be investing in renewables and conservation . 
we should be strengthening our natural security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil . 
we should be doing a lot of things today . 
protecting guilty polluters is not one of them . 
i urge my colleagues to defeat this rule and the underlying bill . 
