Douglas Alexander: “I compliment the Senator but I cannot vote for his amendment. This committee has added to the $1.3 billion proposal by…”

“I compliment the Senator but I cannot vote for his amendment. This committee has added to the $1.3 billion proposal by the President for the hydrogen car, $1.6 billion suggested by the Senator from North Dakota and others on that side. The issue is whether we want to add to the bill a target that we have 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the United States by 2010. I respectfully suggest that is a wild guess. I drove a $2 million Ford hydrogen car around the block in Washington. I did that, I believe the Senator and several others did, and it costs $2 million to make the car. It actually works. We drove around and got so excited we came up on the Senate floor and put into law that we ought to have 100,000 of them by the year 2010. It is not mandatory. It reminded me, as I mentioned yesterday, my friends were guessing wrong about the facts technology. I respectfully will vote no.”