Harry Reid: “I make a couple of points that I think are worth making on this most important bill. First, I express my appreciation to…”

“I make a couple of points that I think are worth making on this most important bill. First, I express my appreciation to Senator Domenici. He and I have worked on this bill for a long time. When I say ``this bill,'' year after year we work hard to put a bill together. Some years are easier than others. This was not an easy year. It was a very difficult year. We have a lot of Senators who are not happy with what we have been able to do, but we have done the best we can under very trying circumstances. Our conference allocation is $750 million above the President's request. Of that amount, $600 million went to the Corps of Engineers for flood control and navigation projects. This is in relation to the post-Katrina world in which it is certainly obvious why we needed to do this. This is a wise investment of our Nation's resources. The scrutiny of the Corps' activities is only going to increase in coming years. So it is imperative that they conduct themselves in a completely open and transparent manner moving forward. Unfortunately, the result of placing such a high priority on flood control is that important programs of the Department of Energy are essentially flat. This will not be an easy year for renewable and energy-efficient programs, the Office of Science, or the critically important environmental cleanups at nuclear weapons sites nationwide. We must do better in future years. In fact, we have to find more resources for these important activities.…”