Cord Byrd: “I begin my remarks today by quoting from George Bernard Shaw's ``Man and Superman,'' ``If history repeats itself, and…”

“I begin my remarks today by quoting from George Bernard Shaw's ``Man and Superman,'' ``If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable Man must be of learning from experience!'' I have been concerned about the issue of energy security for many years now. It was in 1992 that the Congress last passed major energy legislation. Now, for the first time in a decade, events have converged to make possible substantive progress on a national energy policy. But the question remains as to whether or not real progress will be made. The energy crisis of the 1970s should have been a wake-up call. I argued then and throughout the 1980s and 1990s that it was time to get moving to address our long-term energy problems. Each episode of short supply and higher prices spurred renewed talk about our Nation's lack of an energy policy. But, each time, supplies stabilized, prices dropped, and nothing materialized from all that talk. Will we again let that opportunity slip away? Energy is about how we live our lives--today and into the future.”