Frank Pallone: “I wanted to take the opportunity this morning to comment on the fact that Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, recently…”

“I wanted to take the opportunity this morning to comment on the fact that Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, recently announced at the Energy Department that he will be visiting India this fall after the parliamentary elections that are supposed to take place next month, and basically indicated very strongly that the purpose of his visit is to encourage even more cooperation between the United States and India with regard to energy issues. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, last night actually on the floor, we initially had a debate on the Burton amendment, which was seeking to cut development assistance to India, and wisely the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) decided at the last minute to withdraw his amendment because the votes fortunately were not there; but during that debate many of us who opposed the Burton amendment pointed to increased trade and opportunities between the United States and India in various areas, and the support of the U.S. business community for more investment and trade with India.”