Frank Pallone: “I think when we talk about the Republican abuse of power and we use the Energy Task Force... the Republican majority…”

“I think when we talk about the Republican abuse of power and we use the Energy Task Force... the Republican majority here in the House has simply made it impossible, if you will, for Democrats, any Democrat, to participate in the process. So when I say that it is important to know what happened at this Energy Task Force and who was on it and what they did, it is not because of some secret feeling that this is crucial; it is because of the impact on public policy. We know that when the energy bill came to the House... basically it was a bill that came from this task force and that moved through the committee to the floor and over to the other body without any major changes, because they do not allow Democrats on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, or even Republicans sometimes, to make changes from what the administration requested. So if we had gone through the normal deliberative process... then maybe this would not be as significant.”