The Public Record
I know the House had a hearing in 1999. The Clinton administration proposed a 1.5-cent credit penalty per kilowatt hour. Why did the chairman come up with a 3-cent penalty, double what the Clinton administration proposed a couple of years…
Further, to clarify, the Senator is aware, then, that the renewable standard is higher than that proposed by the Clinton administration because it is 10 percent instead of 7.5 percent. Is the Senator aware that the penalty in the…
The amendment I called up, sponsored by Senator Breaux, Senator Miller, Senator Voinovich, and myself, will reduce the penalty if a utility doesn't achieve the renewable standard that is set in the legislation. The legislation says that 10…
I hope all Senators will pay attention because we are talking about an amendment that will have a real impact on utility rates, on electric rates all across the country. It will cost millions. Actually, I think my colleague from Arizona…
I happen to be a member of the Energy Committee. I would have loved to have participated in a hearing and a markup on this section. I would love to hear from experts on both sides of this aisle how much this amendment would really cost…
The key point of this letter says: PSNH will be the only utility in New Hampshire that would be required to participate in the program. It creates a very uneven field for us and will cost our consumers an estimated $22 million a year. It…
Correct me if I am wrong; Texas has a requirement that has a goal of 2,000 megawatts of new renewable energy by the year 2009. That represents 2.6 percent of their present generating capacity. Also correct me if I am wrong, but Texas has…
The Department of Energy supports this amendment. It does not oppose it. Two, as to colleagues saying this amendment does not cost anything, they are not talking about the people who know something about the amendment. The Energy…
I appreciate the question. I have seen something like it. I will allude to it. I hope we can fix it at a later date. That deals with the renewable portfolio standards that are also in this bill. To show you how similar they are, in that…
I think we are having a good debate. I think it is informative to my colleagues. I thank and compliment my colleague from New York, Mr. Schumer, and my colleague from California, Senator Feinstein, for their leadership in bringing out an…
I am kind of bothered by the number of people who are coming out against drilling in ANWR without ever being there, without ever visiting the people, and without knowing the real impact. Alaska happens to be one of the prettiest States in…
I compliment Senator McConnell, Senator Dodd, Senator Bond, and Senator Schumer on their hard work on this election reform bill. I would also like to thank them for adding what I think is a very important provision to this bill. The bill…
He is saying let's take up the House-passed bill. The request I was going to make, and I ask my colleague if he would agree with this, is let's take the House-passed bill and let's have an amendment on each side, one amendment, an…
I hope we are not going to come up with ideological litmus tests. If that is the case, we are changing the entire confirmation process. I hope my colleagues will step back and think: We may have a change in leadership in the Senate. Are we…
I have heard many people on the floor of the Senate say: Well, renewables don't cost anything. If renewables don't cost anything, why do we exempt Bonneville Power? Why do we exempt the city of Los Angeles? Why do we exempt TVA, the…
I am talking about wholesale cost which is the replacement cost where if you have incremental renewables going into the system, they are paid the wholesale cost, not the retail cost.
I have mentioned in two or three speeches my displeasure about how this bill was brought to the floor. But this bill presented to us is the third iteration. It is a 590-page bill with a renewables section. I was preparing to debate the…
We are concluding a great debate that has lasted for years. I compliment the primary sponsors of this legislation, Senators McCain and Feingold, for their tenacity, perseverance, and stubbornness in making this event happen. They have been…
I am very concerned, as an individual Senator who has been in the Senate for 22 years, about how the Senate is working--or, in some cases, not working. I am concerned about the pending bill and the fact that I have served on this committee…
I do not care how many times the Senator from Nevada waves that bill around, I remember there was a markup. I remember putting several people in our committee through a very difficult markup to pass legislation, which they did. My…
Before my friend from Nevada leaves, let me clarify a couple things. One, he referred once or twice to the Patients' Bill of Rights. We had a markup on the Patients' Bill of Rights. I am absolutely positive of that. No matter how poor my…
I am surprised. I don't recall that. I don't recall considering the two alternatives. I asked staff did we have a hearing and they said no. I asked if there was a House hearing; they said no. On something this controversial, I am just not…
I understand his situation. We are dealing with $20 billion projects, $10 billion worth of loan guarantees, and we haven't had nearly the number of hearings necessary to consider proponents of both sides and environmentalists. In addition…
I am very upset about the procedure and how we arrived here today. I served 22 years on the Energy Committee. I worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass historic legislation, to deregulate the price of natural gas. My point is, we…
I just don't think we should mandate that it be the southern route. It may well be, due to the information our colleagues have had, the southern route is the preferred route. I am not saying it is not. I just don't think it should be…
Politicians like Don Nickles
