William H. Frist: “as we bring this week to a close and look back, I am pleased with the progress that has been made on the Energy bill…”

“as we bring this week to a close and look back, I am pleased with the progress that has been made on the Energy bill which we have completed, in essence, except for final passage which we will do Tuesday. Then we are ahead of what I initially anticipated, having proceeded to our first appropriations bill, the Interior appropriations. The bill, as has been mentioned, is an excellent bill. I congratulate both the leaders on that bill, the chairman and the ranking member on the Interior Subcommittee, for their superb shepherding of this bill through their subcommittee, and now bringing it to the floor. I also thank the committee for reporting a bill that keeps to the spending allocation under this year's budget resolution. As we travel back home, and as we will see when we go back during the Fourth of July recess, the American people expect us to adhere to that budget, a very strict spending budget, a budget on which Chairman Gregg led, and we passed, the fastest budget we have ever passed but, more important than that, a budget that shows fiscal discipline. Indeed, the ranking member and chairman of the subcommittee adhered to that allocation throughout. Senators Burns and Dorgan have worked hard to be responsible stewards of American taxpayer dollars. At the same time it is reflected in the bill the importance of being stewards of the natural wonders and the heritage and the beauty of our great country.…”