Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak on an amendment that I submitted last week, amendment No. 3140, which is a tripartisan amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act, which is the pending legislation. I submitted the amendment last week with Senators Klobuchar and King as my lead cosponsors. Our amendment would support the key role that the forests in this country can play in helping to meet our country's energy needs. The carbon benefits of forest biomass are clearly established. Yet current policy uncertainty could end up jeopardizing--rather than encouraging--investment in working forests, harvesting operations, bioenergy, wood products, and paper manufacturing. Biomass energy is sustainable, responsible, renewable, and economically significant as an energy source. Many States are already relying on biomass to meet their renewable energy goals. There is a great deal of support for renewable biomass, which creates the benefits of establishing jobs, boosting economic growth, and helping us to meet our Nation's energy needs. Federal policies across all departments and agencies must remove any uncertainties and contradictions through a clear policy that forest bioenergy is an essential part of our Nation's energy future. With these goals in mind, I have offered a very straightforward amendment with a group of colleagues who span the ideological spectrum. They include, as I mentioned, Senators Klobuchar and King, as well as Senators Ayotte, Franken, Daines, Crapo, and Risch.…”