Political Quotes

“I am here to join Senator Merkley in offering amendment No. 3812 regarding funding for wind energy research. This is a straightforward amendment. It simply restores funding for wind energy research to the amount provided for just last year--$95.4 million. The underlying bill provides $80 million, so the Merkley-Grassley amendment will increase funding by just $15.4 million. These additional funds will come from within the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program, so we can see there is no cost to this amendment from the bottom line of the bill. It does not raise overall spending levels. It simply redirects $15 million from other renewable and efficiency programs to wind energy research. This funding will allow the Department of Energy to continue the advancement of wind technologies and innovations. These advances have greatly increased the competitiveness of wind and facilitated rapid growth in wind energy across the country. In Iowa, wind energy now accounts for more than 30 percent of the State's total electricity supply. Wind supported 88,000 jobs in 2015, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year. Wind was also the No. 1 source of new generating capacity in 2015--greater than natural gas and solar. Some of my colleagues oppose wind energy and Federal policies that support this clean and renewable energy. They argue we shouldn't pick winners or that wind is a mature industry. Don't kid yourself.…”