Gary Hart: “Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Chairman Biggert) and the ranking member, the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Chairman Biggert) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) of the Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science, and also the gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) of the full Committee on Science, for working with me on H.R. 3890, a bill which will reauthorize the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988. The legislation reauthorizes the Steel and Aluminum Competitiveness Act of 1988, which established a public-private research initiative, with cost sharing from industry, focused on improving industrial energy efficiency in the steel and aluminum smelting and fabrication industries. The bill would result in improved energy efficiency in the domestic metals industries, thereby improving our international competitiveness in those industries. Improved industrial energy efficiency also offers environmental benefits through reduced emissions per unit of steel or aluminum produced. It can also help reduce the future demand for energy in the industrial sector, which is extremely important as we see rising fuel prices. The bill authorizes $13.3 million for this program in fiscal year 2005, the same level that was appropriated for fiscal year 2004.”