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 .  