Lisa Murkowski: “I want to make a brief reference to the majority leader's comments where he thanked the chairmen who helped craft this…”

“I want to make a brief reference to the majority leader's comments where he thanked the chairmen who helped craft this bill. This is what the bill looks like. As we start in, it is going to be quite an educational job because much of the bill is crafted without the input of the members of the committees of jurisdiction. When the majority leader says he wants to thank all chairmen, I join and applaud that effort, but what about the members of the committees of jurisdiction? To some degree, they have been left out of this process, which I think is extremely unfortunate. Did they help craft this bill? Were they asked? Clearly the answer is no. As an example, as the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I can certify that the committee has not had an opportunity to, in a markup, deliberate on the merits of this package of some 500 pages covering aspects as complex as electricity and electricity deregulation. It is fair to say this bill is going to require a great deal of time and a great deal of education.”