Pete Domenici: “fellow Senators, I know this is a difficult situation for the Senator from New Mexico, because on big matters of energy…”

“fellow Senators, I know this is a difficult situation for the Senator from New Mexico, because on big matters of energy for the last 3 years, I have been working with my colleague, and we end up coming forth with bipartisan ideas. In fact, the basic underpinning of this bill that was brought before us is bipartisan. If we can keep all of that that came through us, it will be a very big and powerful bill. I am not sure we can, because there will be those who are trying to take out big pieces of it before we are finished. But after the bill was out of committee and here on the floor, Senator Bingaman proposed an amendment I could not possibly support, so it did not end up in our bill. So it is not bipartisan; it is his. I have to oppose it. First, let me say if I were Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, or South Carolina-- and I am not, and nobody sent me here to represent them or defend them, but they are busy and some of them understand this issue. I hope they will vote accordingly. These States I have just mentioned--Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina--are the States that are going to have to pay into this program and they get nothing for it. They cannot produce wind energy, and so Florida is going to pay $21 billion over the course of this legislation; South Carolina is going to pay 6; Alabama is going pay to 7, and so on.…”