Political Quotes

“let me again reflect on where I think we are. We have chosen to try to get an energy bill before this body all year. We introduced an energy bill late in January in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Hearings were held. We had a little change of leadership that resulted in a situation where we could not get the bill brought up in committee. In the meantime, of course, the House of Representatives did its work. It passed H.R. 4, which was an energy bill. It was a good energy bill. It had virtually everything that we felt should be addressed in the body of the bill because it addressed, if you will, not only renewables but alternatives, as well as new sources of energy. H.R. 4 is the bill that is before us right now, but it is coupled with a cloning bill, and it is on a railroad retirement bill. But I think we should focus on the reality here, which is that the President has asked for an energy bill. The House has done its job. The Senate has yet to do its job. The ultimate disposition of this vote today is not going to be very meaningful because different Members are going to be able to respond in different ways. Those who are particularly attuned to the cloning issue, obviously--and I share the position of Senator Brownback that we should not be rushing into this. There should be some evaluation on its ethical and moral aspects.”