Political Quotes

“I have come to the floor to speak in support of the fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill. I want to thank the senior Senator from Tennessee for his leadership in developing this bill, for doing his part to help the Senate return to a regular budgeting process, and I want to urge my colleagues not to filibuster when we vote on it. The Appropriations Committee passed this bill with broad bipartisan approval in late May. The final vote in committee was 26-4, with all Republicans and 10 Democratic Senators supporting it. That means close to 90 percent of the Appropriations Committee voted to advance this bill--a very strong ratio that we should carry over here on the floor, instead of grounding it with demands for more and more spending. There is a lot in here that the Senate should like. My colleague from Tennessee has developed a good, balanced bill that will provide funding and direction to the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation. It will allow the Senate to advance our Nation's energy security, nuclear waste cleanup, flood control, and infrastructure development. We hear a lot of talk about the importance of Federal energy policy around here. As the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I certainly agree that energy policy and stewardship of our public lands are worthy of our time and attention. And that is one of the reasons this bill should be allowed to go forward.…”