Paul Tonko: “Thank you Representative Garamendi, and thank you for introducing on this House Floor some of the concepts that have…”

“Thank you Representative Garamendi, and thank you for introducing on this House Floor some of the concepts that have been presented by the President in his budget presentation to Congress. Certainly, I have been waiting with great anticipation as to what the energy portion of this budget might look like. Why? Because I think it is a cornerstone. Energy policy, energy resources are those cornerstones of rebuilding our American economy, to grow the economy, and to strengthen the prospects out there for job creation in the private sector by creating that partnership, public-private partnership where the private sector will grow those jobs. Also, I am curious because of my past roles as energy chair, the energy committee chair in the New York State Assembly, a role that I held for some 15 years, and also my leadership in NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, prior to my coming to Congress. Now sitting on Energy and Commerce as a committee assignment, I have great, great interest in where the President wants to take us on the energy issues, and I am very favorably impressed by some of the down payments that he wants to make.…”