Political Quotes

“I would like to bring the attention of this body to a piece of legislation that is pending, S. 1888, the Energy Policy Conservation Act extension. I think my friend from Georgia will find it does have an application to the defense of our Nation, because this bill is very simple, and its immediate passage is extremely important to our Nation's energy security as well as our Nation's national security. The administration strongly supports the passage of this bill and the language is not controversial. However, as chairman of the Energy Committee, we have been trying to clear this for 2 weeks now. We continue to have, unfortunately, objections from our friends on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats. But I know it is not the content of S. 1888 that they are objecting to. So let me make the situation very clear. I appeal to my friend from Georgia, the manager of the bill, that the authorization for two vital energy security measures, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the U.S. participation in the International Energy Agency are due to expire at the end of this month. S. 1888 simply extends those two vital authorities through September, until a more comprehensive reauthorization bill can be enacted. So if we do not pass S. 1888 by the time we recess, the President will not have the authority to withdraw oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if an energy emergency occurs in this country.”