mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume .  mr. speaker , back in 1995 , my republican colleagues , the so-called champions of states ' rights , led the fight to pass the unfunded mandates reform act , a bill they claimed would stop the federal government from imposing the costs of federally mandated programs on states and localities .  well , here we are 10 years later and the tables have turned .  my republican colleagues are bringing a bill to the floor that imposes a multibillion dollar unfunded mandate on communities around the country whose water supplies have been tainted by the fuel additive mtbe .  this additive , a known brown water contaminant used by oil companies for nearly two decades , has seeped into our nation 's water supply .  in all , mtbe has been detected in over 1 , 800 water systems , which serve 45 million americans .  this is the water that our constituents , our communities and our families use , and it has been contaminated with a potential human carcinogen .  despite knowing all of this , the republican leadership has no reservations about shielding oil companies from any liability to the damages caused by mtbe .  and then if that were not bad enough , they have included a nearly $ 2 billion bailout for these same companies .  so while communities will be left to cover the overwhelming costs of cleanup , not only will these oil companies get a free pass , but they will also get another kickback at the expense of taxpayers .  here the republican leadership is once again weighing the interests of big oil above the health and safety of our communities .  specifically , section 1502 of the energy bill we are talking about today creates a safe harbor for mtbe manufacturers against lawsuits that attempt to hold them accountable for the damage their product has wrought on the water supplies of communities all over the country .  as the letter the congressional budget office sent to the gentleman from california ( chairman dreier ) yesterday explains , while the bill creates a safe harbor for the mtbe manufacturers , it sticks our state and local governments with a bill that could be as large as $ 29 billion .  during these bad economic times , how many states and local communities can afford that ?  by blocking the claims of local governments against the mtbe manufacturers , this bill will force communities to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up their water .  cbo concludes that the annual cost of this mandate over the next 5 years is likely to exceed $ 62 million , which accordingly triggers the unfunded mandate law republicans so proudly backed in 1995 .  the fact is that the rule waives all points of order against the bill .  the budget act specifically says that the committee on rules can not waive points of order against unfunded mandates , yet the republican leadership blatantly ignores this .  mr. speaker , the house can either choose to consider this bill in spite of the bill 's unfunded mandate , or it can send this bill back to committee and strike the mtbe section from the bill , eliminating the violation of this point of order .  at the end of this debate , therefore , i will call for a vote on a motion to continue consideration or fix this problem .  mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time .  