Political Quotes

“I want to begin by thanking Chairman Simpson for his bipartisan approach in preparing this bill. We have a good committee, and we work together. I want to thank also our entire staff, Donna Shahbaz and Taunja Berquam, the Republican and Democratic Clerks, as well as the rest of the Committee staff: Matt Anderson, Angie Giancarlo, Loraine Heckenberg, and Perry Yates; and in the personal offices, Sarah Cannon and Ryan Steyer. Their countless long hours, late nights, and thoughtful insight are so critical to help us prepare this legislation. Thirty-seven years ago, President Jimmy Carter, after the first Arab oil embargo, as gasoline prices exploded and the U.S. fell into deep, deep recession, championed the creation of a U.S. Department of Energy. He equated the struggle for America's energy independence as the moral equivalent of war, and he was right. He set a goal to steer the United States toward energy independence by 1985. Today, America still struggles to meet that challenge set out nearly four decades ago: reducing our imported energy dependence, curbing our voracious appetite for foreign oil, and growing a diverse domestic energy portfolio that invests in a self-reliant America and the job creation here at home that goes with it. Containing our ballooning consumption topped President Carter's agenda. But while he successfully reduced consumption during his Presidency, his successors lost focus.…”