Windfall Profits Tax Legislation Statement on House of Representatives Approval of the Legislation.

I am very pleased that the House of Representatives today approved the conference report on the windfall profits tax by a substantial majority. I particularly want to thank the House leadership, Chairman Al Ullman, and the members of the House Ways and Means Committee for their hard work on this critical bill.

The windfall profits tax, which I proposed as a companion to the decontrol of crude oil prices, is central to an equitable energy policy. It will provide significant new incentives to U.S. oil producers while preventing excessive, unearned income from decontrol and from precipitous rises in the world oil price. The revenues it will generate over the next decade are needed to provide for assistance to low-income households, investments in mass transit, and the development of new sources of energy, including conservation. The bill provides sufficient funds and flexibility to meet these needs, along with those which may arise in the future.

Our present economic problems are in large part due to the failure to take firm action in years gone by.

I urge the Senate to complete its action on the windfall profits tax bill promptly. Once this last step is taken, our country will be well on its way to securing our energy future through investments in our own American resources, including conservation, coal, biomass, synthetic fuels, and solar energy. Development of these domestic energy sources is vital to our national security and to our future economic health and well-being.