Political Quotes

“I support the energy efficiency amendment contained in the package of amendments managed by the chairman of the subcommittee. This amendment, which I have sponsored along with Senators Murkowski and Bingaman, clarifies, with respect to the measurement of energy use by the Federal government, that the directives contained in Presidential Executive Order 13123 cannot circumvent or contradict any relevant statues. The Appropriations Committee addressed this matter last year, when Senator Murkowski and Senator Byrd worked to clarify the intent of Congress with respect to energy use and energy measurement. As a result of their efforts, the conference report on the Omnibus Appropriations bill included language that has the same effect as the amendment we propose today--that is, the federal government shall obey existing laws, that proposed changes to the law are subject to the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and that the law cannot be changed by committee report language, executive order or any other mechanism that would circumvent the jurisdiction of the authorizing committee. Mr. President, this amendment will remedy flaws in the Executive Order, most of which represents a laudable effort to save taxpayer dollars by increasing energy efficiency in federal buildings.”