Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise to offer an amendment which addresses another misguided and restrictive Federal regulation. Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act prohibits Federal agencies from entering into contracts for the procurement of fuels unless their lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are less than or equal to emissions from an equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources. My simple amendment would stop the government from enforcing this ban on all Federal agencies funded by the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. The initial purpose of section 526 was to stifle the Defense Department's plans to buy and develop coal-based or coal-to-liquids jet fuel. This restriction was based on the opinion of some environmentalists that coal-based jet fuel might produce more greenhouse gas emissions than traditional petroleum. However, one of the unintended consequences of section 526 is that it essentially forces the American military to acquire fuel refined from unstable Middle East crude resources. Furthermore, section 526's ban on fuel choice now affects all Federal agencies, not just the Defense Department. This is why I'm offering this amendment again today to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The American military and our Federal agencies should not be burdened with wasting their time studying fuel restrictions when there's a simple fix.…”