Maria Cantwell: “I too rise in support of the cloture motion this morning and ask my colleagues if we are going to pass the Energy bill…”

“I too rise in support of the cloture motion this morning and ask my colleagues if we are going to pass the Energy bill before the end of this year. I know the American consumer has gotten a wake-up call because they are paying higher gas prices at the pump. But the question is whether Congress and the White House have gotten the same wake-up call. Fortunately, thanks to the hard work of Members on both sides of the aisle and many staff members we are within grasp of a very important solution. But it is time to get to the heart of the matter. And that is, the American people need serious relief from a future of high oil prices by making a transition this legislation would provide. That is we need to make sure we have an energy package that starts investing more aggressively in renewable energy and will actually get us competition at the gas pump and on our electricity grid. I know some are saying the tax title in this bill must go. And some have even been bold enough to say that it's an increase in taxes. That is an interesting position because these are really tax subsidies for the oil industry. They are not a tax increase on consumers.”