Ed Markey: “My amendment deals with the heart of what's wrong with this entire bill. In this bill, the Republicans cut the budget…”

“My amendment deals with the heart of what's wrong with this entire bill. In this bill, the Republicans cut the budget for solar, for wind, for geothermal, for biomass, for clean vehicles--that's plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles. They cut the budget for science. They cut the budget for weatherization. They cut the budget for energy efficiency. But what do they do in the same bill? They increase the budget for coal, for oil, for gas, for nuclear. They increase it while they eviscerate, while they annihilate the clean energy budget, the future energy agenda for our country. So, ladies and gentlemen, this is a big moment here. Where is America heading? Are we going to compete against the Saudi Arabians, the Venezuelans, and others in the generation of energy or are we going to capitulate? Are we going to just become a country where we're importing oil or are we going to move to a solar future, a wind future, an all- electric vehicle future over the next 20 and 30 and 40 years? You know, this budget that they have put together is really one that gets right to the heart of their argument that they say they care about all of the above. What this budget actually says is it is oil above all. It's still a fossil fuel agenda. It's not a technology-oriented agenda. It's not an agenda that can help us to turn the corner and to create new technologies that move us to a 21st century agenda. But see this in the larger picture. This is not compromise.…”