Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2007

FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, this tripartisan amendment has wide support across the political spectrum. It has been cosponsored by Ron Paul of Texas, Mr. Hinchey of New York, Mr. Kucinich of Ohio, and has been endorsed by a number of leading national organizations, including the U.S. Business and Industry Council, the Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Green Scissors Coalition, Public Citizen, Friends of the Earth, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

This amendment is simple and it is straightforward. At a time when this Nation has an $8.2 trillion national debt, this amendment would simply prohibit the Export-Import Bank from providing corporate welfare to large oil companies for the development of oil and gas projects overseas.

Mr. Chairman, in America today there are proposals coming from the White House and the leadership of this institution to cut back on health care, to cut back on Medicare, to cut back on Medicaid, to cut back on financial aid for college middle class students. And yet if we do not have enough money to take care of the middle class and their needs, working families, lower-income families, I wonder why we have billions of dollars available to provide corporate welfare for the largest oil companies in the United States of America, companies that are receiving today billions and billions of dollars in profits.

It is beyond comprehension that anybody in this institution could come forward with a straight face and say that the taxpayers of America should be providing loan guarantees and subsidies to corporations like ExxonMobil, which last year earned $36 billion in profits, more profits than any corporation in the history of the world. Companies like ExxonMobil which had enough money to pay out $398 million for a retirement package for their former CEO. That the taxpayers of this country, that middle-class families, that working families should be subsidizing the largest oil companies in the world who are receiving record-breaking profits, who are paying their CEOs huge compensation packages is literally insane.

We have real needs in this country. We have needs for our veterans, needs for education, needs for health care. If oil companies in America cannot make a buck today without coming for corporate welfare to the taxpayers of this country, they are never going to make a buck.

Since 1996 the Export-Import Bank has given more than $7 billion in loans and loan guarantees for oil and gas projects all over this world, including $1.3 billion to ExxonMobil and nearly $2 billion to our old friends in Halliburton, another company that is obviously in desperate need of taxpayer funds.

Mr. Chairman, to add insult to injury, the top recipient, and I hope you hear this, of this corporate welfare is not even an American company. It is not even a privately owned company. I didn't know that my Republican friends were so supportive of state-owned nationalized industries. I learn something new every day. But the top recipient of this corporate welfare is PEMEX, a wholly owned oil company of Mexico. Well, isn't that great that the taxpayers of America are subsidizing a wholly owned oil company of Mexico. Well, how about paying attention to some small businesses in America?

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I gather many of my friends here are strong proponents of the free enterprise system. They like the idea of risk, venture taking, and I wonder why it is that when the Export-Import Bank is supposed to be the place of last resort when large oil companies like ExxonMobil are supposed to go to the banks, I wonder why ExxonMobil is not going to Citibank or other large banks to get any assistance they might need. It is beyond comprehension to me that ExxonMobil and Halliburton cannot get a loan from the private sector. Beyond belief.

Furthermore, I find it unbelievable, to be honest with you, as to why the taxpayers of this country are subsidizing a state-owned industry in Mexico, PEMEX, they are a state-owned oil company, when certainly my friends over there would never think of in a million years of subsidizing a state-owned oil company in the United States of America.

Here is the bottom line: historically the Ex-Im, the Export-Import Bank, has been a major provider of corporate welfare to the largest corporations in America. There are corporations that have received huge amounts of help from Export-Import and then they say, oh, thank you very much, taxpayers of America. By the way, we are shutting down plants in this country and we are moving to China. And now what we are looking at is one segment of their loans and loan guarantees to the oil industry.

Thank you, taxpayers of America, for subsidizing us, and now we are going to charge you $3 for a gallon of gas while we earn record-breaking profits.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment should in fact be passed unanimously. It is beyond belief; it would be beyond belief to the people of this country that there is anyone here who thinks the taxpayer money should go to the oil industry which is enjoying record-breaking profits while they rip off the American people.

I would hope we have widespread support for this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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