Debbie Dingell: “I rise to support those portions of H.R. 4 reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. In that committee, we had a…”

“I rise to support those portions of H.R. 4 reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. In that committee, we had a bipartisan process and a bipartisan vote for passage of 50 to 5. I want to specifically commend my good friend and colleague, the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), and the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), for the way in which our committee addressed these issues. I also want to commend the distinguished ranking member, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher), for his fine leadership and cooperation in this matter. It is regrettable that some other provisions from other committees have not met the same high standards of work and bipartisanship that were included in the efforts of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The tight deadlines imposed by the leadership, when coupled with lack of specific statutory proposals by the administration, meant that it was much more difficult to accomplish this legislation and that our successes were more limited. Having said this, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has produced proposals well worthy of support in this body. Our bill provided for helpful conservation measures, balanced and targeted hydroelectric licensing reform, important protection of the nuclear waste fund, major incentives for the development and use of clean coal technology, and a needed analysis of the use of boutique fuels, a major problem.”