Mitch Landrieu: “I am happy to have some time this morning to speak about the important issue that is before the Senate and has been for…”

“I am happy to have some time this morning to speak about the important issue that is before the Senate and has been for some time. It is very important legislation that will help us set the course of our energy policy for perhaps the next several decades. While we have spent a great deal of time on this bill, I am glad we have spent this time because this is one of the most, if not the most, important issue we could be addressing at this time. It relates to our national security posture and it relates to the issues that are before our eyes and on our hearts: what is happening in the Mideast and around the world. Although I understand the leadership wanting to move to other issues, hopefully, we can have the final votes and move on to other issues. I have come to this Chamber a number of times to relay what people in Louisiana are thinking and hoping for in this bill, and I have tried to express their frustration in some ways over what they and I also perceive as a conflicting policy. It seems as though our Nation has a test of our will every 20 or so years: Are we willing to take the steps necessary to become more energy independent? The last time we had this test was in the 1970s when oil spiked because of international circumstances. Our gas lines were very long. It put a clamp on our economy, helped to raise interest prices and threw our economy into a tailspin. We failed the test. Over the last 25 years, we have not become more energy independent.”