Byron Dorgan: “Suffice it to say it provides little benefit to come to the Senate and say, they are responsible for us not having an…”

“Suffice it to say it provides little benefit to come to the Senate and say, they are responsible for us not having an energy bill. We all understand why we do not have an energy bill. I was one who signed the conference report, worked on the bill, voted for the bill in the Senate. We do not have an energy bill because it failed by two votes. It failed by two votes because the majority leader of the other body insisted on a retroactive waiver for liability of MTBE. He was told it would kill the bill, and it killed the bill. I don't have much patience with Members who point to one side or the other and say they killed the Energy bill. The Energy bill should be in the Senate right now and should have been in the Senate last week. We ought to do an energy bill. There is no Republican or Democrat way to pay inflated gas prices. The way you pay inflated gas prices is stick the hose in the tank and you have to fork over a bunch of bills when you are done filling the tank. We ought to get a bill through here. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle believe that. In my judgment, it ought to be a priority.”