Kevin Cramer

I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and I appreciate his raising the point of the war on coal and talking about the economic benefits of coal in Pennsylvania. I don't know if anybody noticed, but deep in that 21-page declaration of…

Thank you for sharing that, and for the invitation. I very much appreciate your referencing the cost of energy. Affordable energy, after all, really is a driving factor in many other investment decisions and job opportunities. And I think…

I think that is exactly right.

But even in a savings to the Federal Government, do we measure the possibility that that savings will be a cost of the ratepayers not in their taxes but perhaps in their utility rates?

It shouldn't be this complicated. I have always found it frustrating that it requires a whole bunch of people creating a whole bunch of jobs to screw in a light bulb that will save money, and that ought to be fairly self-evident.

My personal belief is that efficiency ought to be its own reward.

The Federal Government manages half-a-million buildings in the United States, and that speaks to a whole other challenge, which I think, frankly, is symptomatic of why Administration officials and bureaucrats can come in here and give…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. The idea that somehow this amendment creates free and fair trade is a fallacy, and the idea that somehow sugar has not been reformed in recent years and decades is also a fallacy. The greatest…

Is there any chance of expediting some of that in a responsible way?

I would encourage that type of an investment where there is already proven--a proven cost-benefit.

I prefer to be energy secure next year. Not necessarily independent, but secure.

When the former Secretary of Energy calls for $7 gasoline, you know that is a priority.

And many of the arguments they make are not relevant in today's abundance of natural resources.

Would it not stand to reason that since there are fewer leases, there would be fewer protests?

This is a matter of national security, not just economic security.

I think in situ process is interesting. It has become better and better and it always will be.

I think to talk about it as though there would never be a spill would be inaccurate, but I think it is also to talk about as though a spill is somehow going to ruin the world is also inaccurate.

I have nothing, Mr. Chairman, but would yield my time to the Chair, if he needs it.

We are in North Dakota, again, speaking for my constituents who are very interested in this topic because we are a big aviation state.

I would say, given that you spent New Year's Eve in Hazen, North Dakota, at one point, you understand how extreme our climate can be.

We need everybody rowing in the same direction on this issue since it is so complex.

As you know, we have the School of Aerospace Sciences... this is a state effort to do exactly--unify all of the institutions.

What I really hear is manipulating the playing field to create an advantage where one doesn't exist when the playing field is level.

``No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually…

I think there is always unintended consequences.