Mitch Landrieu: “I rise today to support this Energy bill. I heard my colleague from Washington State speak beautifully and passionately…”

“I rise today to support this Energy bill. I heard my colleague from Washington State speak beautifully and passionately about many of the important aspects of this bill. There are Members who can come to this floor and pick out one or two things they had hoped to get in that did not make it. We had a lot of arguments about this bill, a lot of debate, but overall it is very balanced legislation. It does look to the future, as well as holding on to some of the things in the past that have served us well. It seeks to increase independence of the United States of America so we can produce more energy on our shore, under our control, to not only help boost our economy, make our industries more competitive, but most importantly make this Nation more secure when it comes to international involvements. Americans want lower prices at the pump, but they want to know that this Congress is taking action to make them more secure nationally. By being more self-reliant, we can. Now, yes, we have to open up our shores to liquefied natural gas because our price is going through the roof, and unless we increase supply substantially and rather quickly, that price will remain high. It will put almost every industry in this country at a very serious disadvantage for international competition. As Senator Cantwell stated, it does give new protections for consumers from market manipulation. Senator Dorgan has led the fight with regard to hydrogen, with Senator Bingaman's help.…”