David Thomas: “I believe we have an Energy bill before us that is very broad, that is very encompassing, and that is very balanced.…”

“I believe we have an Energy bill before us that is very broad, that is very encompassing, and that is very balanced. That is what we have needed to do. We have been working now for 2 rac{1}{2} years, and we generally have not been able to get over the obstacles to be able to get it completed, and I think I understand why. But it is time for us to decide: How important is it for us to have an energy policy? The first thing this administration came up with when it came into office was an energy policy with a direction, and we have been fooling around with it ever since. Last year, we couldn't even get it through the committee. We had to go right to the floor. We went to the conference committee and worked very hard. We did not succeed. But this is a balanced approach. We are talking about an opportunity to have conservation, which is one of the things we need to do in energy. We are talking about the opportunity to have alternative sources of energy, which we will come to over a period of time.”