On the recordMay 7, 2014
I thank my good friend from Oklahoma for ensuring that I have the time to talk for a few minutes about an issue he and I feel very strongly about; that is, the best use of American energy and what American energy means to American families. It seems to me the request our side of the aisle is making is not at all unreasonable. It has been 7 years since the Senate had a real debate on energy. The Shaheen-Portman bill creates that opportunity, but suddenly we were told: This bill is so good already. Why do you want to continue to talk about ways to make it even better? There are very few things beyond energy and health care which I can talk about for a substantial period of time--and I hope to talk about health care sometime between now and the end of the week. Energy has the same kind of impact on families that health care has. The majority leader wants to control every debate every week in the Senate, which means nothing happens. That is not the way the Senate works. Traditionally, any Member of the Senate can introduce any amendment they want on any bill at any time. However, that is not the way the House works. I served in the House. The majority runs the House, and the Rules Committee in the House is nine in the majority and four in the minority. It is pretty hard to lose a vote in a 9-to-4 committee. I think that is why the committee was established that way. The Senate has never been run that way.…
