Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I oppose the gentleman's amendment. Again, our bill strikes a balance between funding for many competing national…”

“I oppose the gentleman's amendment. Again, our bill strikes a balance between funding for many competing national priorities in this bill that this amendment would undo. I do, and we do, support the important work of the Army Corps of Engineers but not at the expense of those national priorities--national defense, scientific research, good things in the Department of Energy. And may I say our mark is considerably more generous for these purposes than the President's mark; so do give us a little bit of credit. This amendment would cut into the fossil energy research program, an account nearly $200 million below the 2010 budget mark. Fossil energy, I think as we're all aware of, produces nearly 70 percent of our Nation's electricity, and we must continue to invest to ensure that we use our fossil resources efficiently and clearly. This bill, again, strikes a careful balance between these priorities, and I oppose the amendment and will insist on my point of order.”