Political Quotes

“This amendment--and I appreciate my colleague from Virginia for helping to bring it forward here today-- will help reduce the budget deficit by about $25 million. At a time when we all know we need to make some of the hard cuts to balance our budget, why not make some of the easy cuts? Oil shale, and the research that's reduced under this amendment, does not exist in any economically viable fashion. In fact, many of the corporations and companies that would have the most self-interest in developing oil shale have given it not even a second priority or a third priority--a distant, distant priority--and have cut back on much of the research because there simply is no economically viable way to produce oil shale. Again, at a time when we need to reexamine our priorities and we know that we need to balance our budget, why not save $25 million from a technology that doesn't exist and that we've already plowed billions of dollars of taxpayer money into. {time} 1450 We still contribute with our Federal resources with regard to any future potential that oil shale might have. There are several research leases in place and private companies continue to invest, although in decreasing amounts, in this technology.…”