Angus King

There have to be consequences, otherwise everybody is going to come after us, not just Russia, but North Korea, Iran, and terrorist organizations.

Part of the problem also is we tend to want to keep secret what we can do when, in reality, a secret deterrent is not a deterrent.

Right now, we are not imposing much in the way of consequences.

If all we do is try to patch networks and defend ourselves, we will ultimately lose.

I think you fellows understated one important point, and I do not understand why the representative from the White House is not here because I think he has a reasonable story to tell.

I want to just associate myself with the comments and questions that were made by Senator Inhofe and I think Senator Shaheen about open source software and some of the policy discussions we are having here.

I think I want to emphasize that, because there's a grave danger.

You need an IG to look at this and shine that flashlight, shine that light on those activities

I want to emphasize the importance of that, because if you look back over the past 50 years, many of our foreign policy disasters were based upon skewed intelligence, based upon the desires of the policymakers, whether it was the Bay of…

Well, I think it is important too because that is a benefit that is hard to quantify, but if you add the transportation costs and the energy that is used--I like the idea of stabilizing energy prices in Maine and also stabilizing the…

It doesn't have to be shipped across the ocean or----

I have always thought one of the important parts about pellets and this whole use of wood energy is, and you made this point, this is energy that comes from here.

We want to credit the Governor and the leadership of the Administration for that. I think that is a good sign.

I have always thought of plants like yours as a kind of insurance policy because you have a more stable fuel price.

So you are selling power into the grid, essentially, on a day-to-day market rate?

That is essential, isn't it? I mean, you couldn't finance without some stable source of revenue.

Any of you who have not visited the Composites Center at the University of Maine in Orono, it is just amazing what they are doing there.

I can't resist asking--isn't the Composites Center at the University a cool place?

We're in the midst of an energy revolution and that the islands are Bunker Hill.

That is something that Lisa Murkowski and I have been trying to address together.

One of the interesting things about Alaska that I learned when I went to Bethel, Alaska, with Senator Murkowski, was that Alaska largely has no grid.

FERC also does not properly value baseload sources of energy, facilities that run consistently and are needed to supplement intermittent sources like wind and solar.

Pursue federal policy parity across renewables. Biomass provides forest management services it is not compensated for and competes in an unfair marketplace in which other renewable forms of energy receive Section 45 production tax credits…

I urge the Committee to join him in supporting the biomass energy sector, generally, so our projects are more sustainable and able to pursue projects like co-location projects that make use of combined heat and power.

Senator King and Senator Collins' efforts to recognize the carbon neutrality of biomass have also been greatly appreciated.