Peter Visclosky: “I appreciate very much this is the third iteration of a very similar amendment, so my comments will also mirror those…”

“I appreciate very much this is the third iteration of a very similar amendment, so my comments will also mirror those that I have made earlier in the debate. The first thing I would make clear to the gentleman from Texas, though, is I am not going to suggest in any way, shape, or form that his amendment is offered to protect the oil and gas industry of his State. As I mentioned earlier this evening, the largest inland oil refinery in the United States of America is in the First Congressional District of Indiana, and I am very proud of that. I tell my constituents that we need a matrix of fuels, and while we work from using carbon almost exclusively, we are also a coal State in Indiana. We are not to foreclose our options, and particularly for the Department of Defense. Given the fact that the Department is the largest consumer of energy on planet Earth as far as a single entity, I do think we ought to also allow them to examine what is the best matrix and mix of fuels for the particular missions and locations that they find themselves in. For these reasons, I am opposed to the gentleman's amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.”