Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I do think that at some point in time it is fair to discuss disclosure when it comes to campaign finance and campaign finance disclosure. However what this amendment does is require campaign finance disclosures from individuals receiving over $1 million from fossil fuel activities--no other activities. What activities are we talking about? It defines fossil fuel activities as those including ``the extraction, production, refining, transportation, or combustion of oil, natural gas, or coal.'' That is pretty broad. We are talking about explorers, producers, refiners, perhaps even the automotive industry, the rail industry, powerplants, and many others. We can have a discussion about campaign finance disclosure and what may or may not be appropriate. We defeated an amendment similar to this when we had the Keystone debate last January. We tabled another. The time and the place to debate this issue is not in this Energy Policy Modernization Act. Therefore, I will be opposing the amendment and encourage my colleagues to do the same. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.”