Alcee Hastings: “I rise today not in support or opposition to the legislation before this body, but rather to bring to this body's…”

“I rise today not in support or opposition to the legislation before this body, but rather to bring to this body's attention the Majority's lack of consideration and complete disregard to issues of environmental justice. Yesterday, during the Rules Committee hearing on H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2003, I offered an amendment that directed the Secretary of Energy to take all necessary steps and efforts to mitigate any adverse impacts that U.S. energy policy and the provision of H.R. 6 may have on minority, rural, Native American, and underserved communities. Additionally, it also requires the Secretary to submit to Congress an annual report detailing the Department's efforts to implement the requirement that I just described. My amendment, as my colleagues and I in the Democratic Party see it, was non-controversial and essentially a reinforcement of a policy that already exists in the Department of Energy's. However, like in so many instances since 1994, the Republican Majority has neglected the responsibility that the Constitution instills upon us to always protect the rights of the minority and speak up for those whose voices all too often go unheard.”