Maurice Hinchey: “This bill, however, is a different matter all together. The bill suffers from serious and dramatic deficiencies. First…”

“This bill, however, is a different matter all together. The bill suffers from serious and dramatic deficiencies. First of all, with regard to the need to bring our country more closely into a condition of energy independence, the bill fails. It is $32 million less than what the President requested for alternative energy and energy conservation. Now, I wish that the President had requested more than that, but the very least that this bill could do is to meet the request laid out by the President of the United States and recognize the need to move our country closer to a situation of energy independence. We are now importing 53 percent of the oil that we use every single day for transportation and for heating of our homes, businesses, and industries. This is a deplorable situation. This is a matter of strategic interest and strategic concern. I can only conclude that this is a conscious decision. Why? Because it is not a matter of money. The bill adds $2 billion to that which was in the bill when it left this House. So it is not a question of funding.”