Jeff Bingaman: “the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has worked diligently throughout this Congress to develop legislation that…”

“the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has worked diligently throughout this Congress to develop legislation that would strengthen our nation's energy security. In July of last year, on a strong bipartisan vote, the Committee reported the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, ACELA, and this past May, again with bipartisan votes, the Committee reported several amendments that would enhance ACELA. I know that other committees also have reported energy legislation, with the expectation that all of this work would be combined into a single bill that the full Senate could consider. Unfortunately, the Senate has, so far, not been able to find a combination of these energy policy proposals that it can move. This situation is particularly unfortunate because many of the provisions caught in this energy policy grid-lock have no known opposition. There is no rational reason why the Senate should not pass legislation which would save our nation energy, strengthen our economy, save Americans money, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and to which there is no known opposition, should not be passed by the Senate. In an effort to bypass this grid-lock, I am pleased to introduce a bill which packages many of these consensus elements.”