Maria Cantwell: “If I can finish for a second, and then I will yield to the Senator to make his request. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…”

“If I can finish for a second, and then I will yield to the Senator to make his request. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a summation of what this debate is about. We have debated this for years, and the reason it has been contentious is because a lot of people have concerns about this direction and proposal. But now to do this on the budget where the environmental safeguards that are applied to other drilling, where the NEPA process and other safeguards are ignored, where we are not sure what oil revenue the United States is really going to get to recognize in this budget, when we don't know whether we are going to keep this oil for economic security reasons, I agree with the Sentinel which said: The reconciliation bill should be used to settle budget matters, not to abuse the public's trust. I will yield now to the Senator from North Dakota for his proposal.”