Political Quotes

“I gather there is some concern expressed by the majority leader about the pace at which we are proceeding on the energy bill. This often happens in the process of a complex piece of legislation, particularly a piece of legislation that has not gone through the committee process as a consequence of the decision of the majority leader. This has taken a while. We are not through by any means. We still have some contentious issues to address, such as global warming, ANWR, the tax proposal, which is going to take some time. I want to see this bill passed. It is my intention to keep working with Senator Bingaman toward the passage of a comprehensive energy bill. It was with the intention that, by amendment, we would try to craft a bill that would be worthy of the Senate's deliberations. There is no question that, obviously, we were expected to deliver a bill. The reality that the House has done its job and passed H.R. 4 puts the responsibility on the Senate. The President has outlined energy as one of his priorities, encouraging that we pass comprehensive energy legislation. So the obligation clearly is ours.”