the concern is that strategy should drive budgets, budgets shouldn't drive strategies.

Cuts will be made, I am certain, to the programs, but that is where the wisdom of this committee comes in.

I want to pick up on a very important point that you made.

We are an island Nation.

We don't want that to happen again, and it is the uncertainty that you must sell to your colleagues.

I was a strong supporter of the statutory approach on deficit reduction.

I do think from the freeze, because the Nation is at war, we need to have more flexibility there.

The current process has not proven the ability to move beyond small ball.

that decision that appeared in the waning days of the prior administration... he claimed that it smelled of politics.

I absolutely believe that the security needs of our country trump every other item.

It sure did seem like the process was a little bit cooked.

There is a strong feeling of bipartisanship as we traverse the land and listen to the people.

by 2020 the House bill could reduce household income in my home State of Ohio by up to $261 per year on average, increase energy costs by up to 20 percent, and result in a net loss of more than 100,000 jobs.

Absolutely. And if I might interject, there has been a lot of discussion here this morning about nuclear power.

You have no stronger proponent of urging the Congress and the country to accept the reality that we have to move to a vastly expanded base of our energy from nuclear power.

I am concerned that this bill is not fair, and I am concerned that it hurts consumers, especially Midwestern consumers, far more than it has to.

As Senator Warner said, you just cannot address one without taking into consideration the effects on the other.

I would defer to this wonderful witnesses right here.

I would say that the American public has a high level of interest in this subject.

We ought to draw on that technology, as the Senator from Tennessee said and put together a strong package as a part of any legislation to help the nuclear industry come back again to the strength it once was in this country.

You get that double-barreled shot of folks having to pay for allowances while at the same time having to pay to green up their energy sources.

But let me make one thing clear. It has to be bipartisan.

This bill, in a lot of ways, picks regional winners and losers.

the President ought to join in as these several committees are beginning to try to strike a consensus among the bills.

It is going to be like building that cathedral, and frankly, I will not be around when the final capstone is put on that cathedral.