ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Oversight

Houghton Announces Hearing on Energy Supply and Prices

Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the impact of Federal tax laws on the cost and supply of energy. The hearing will take place on Monday, March 5, 2001, in the Chautauqua County Legislative Chamber, Gerace County Office Building, 2 North Erie Street, Mayville, New York, beginning at 12:00 noon.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives of the U. S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy, local energy producers and suppliers, manufacturers, a representative of organized labor, and individual consumers. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Internal Revenue Code provides several incentives for domestic production of oil and gas, including: (1) expensing of exploration and development costs, (2) a special depletion deduction, and (3) a tax credit for enchanced oil recovery costs. The tax code also encourages energy conservation by allowing taxpayers to exclude from income energy conservation measures (e.g., longer lasting light bulbs, rebates for buying more efficient furnaces) provided by a utility company to consumers.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Houghton stated: "We held hearings on incentives for oil and gas production two years ago. Since then, the price of crude oil has increased three-fold. The price of natural gas has increased four-fold - in fact, it has increased over seven-fold in some parts of the country. The price of home heating oil has nearly doubled. We simply can't have American families choosing between heating their homes and buying food and medicine. We have to find out where the tax code helps, where it causes problems, and whether it needs to be changed."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on (1) the adequacy of current tax incentives for production and conservation, (2) the causes of current shortages and high prices, and (3) the impact of shortages and high prices on individual consumers and business.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Monday, March 19, 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements, other than invited witnesses, wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 50 additional copies for this purpose to the Office of the Honorable Amo Houghton, Federal Building, Room 122, Jamestown, New York 14701, by the close of business, Friday, March 2, 2001.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.