Political Quotes

“I want to start by commending the Presiding Officer and Senator Cantwell for getting this bill to the floor. They say the third time is the charm. I think this may be the fourth or the fifth time. But I will say that I marvel, Senator Cantwell and Senator Murkowski, at your patience and your persistence. You have never lost sight of the goal, which is to actually move legislation that will help us create jobs, make our economy more efficient, as Senator Cantwell has said, and improve our energy policies at a time when we are desperate to be able to address some of the new changes we see in our economy and in our energy situation in particular. So thank you for your persistence. I also want to commend you and thank you for including as title I of this legislation the energy efficiency legislation, the Portman-Shaheen energy efficiency legislation that we just talked about. Senator Shaheen is here on the floor with me. I hope she will talk about this bill in a second. This is something we worked on a long time--I think over 5 years now. It is an opportunity for us as a body to actually move forward with sensible legislation that makes our Federal Government more efficient and our factories more efficient, as Senator Cantwell has talked about. It improves our ability to create jobs and to be able to be more energy independent. It is the kind of win-win legislation that we do too seldom around here.…”