Pete Domenici: “I thank the Senate for permitting me to speak a few moments today. We are just 3 full days into the Boxer bill, and…”

“I thank the Senate for permitting me to speak a few moments today. We are just 3 full days into the Boxer bill, and several important questions have arisen. Unfortunately, the majority leader has filled the tree. That sounds like something you do around Christmastime, but that is not what it is. It means last night the majority leader decided this bill, when we return to it--if we do, which I don't think we will--would not be amendable. He has put amendments in every place you could amend so you cannot amend any further. So we would not have a chance to fix this. So everybody will understand, 3 days for a bill such as this in the Senate is unheard of. This Senator is serving his 36th year and happens to be fortunate that I was here when the Clean Air Act of America was passed. It was a new regime for trying to clean our air. We were on the floor of the Senate, with Ed Muskie as chairman, for 5 weeks. Over 160 amendments were brought up, and over 100 were approved, or voted on. That is debating a bill--not 3 days. As we consider this bill, we have to ask ourselves if a cap-and-trade regime is our only option, or even our best option, for reaching the bipartisan goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.”