Political Quotes

“this amendment is constructed in a fashion that evades budget points of order. That is to say, no points of order would be appropriate. But it does take advantage of a quite conservative estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the revenues that may accrue from the sale of Elk Hills. I also note that the amendment could result in the Department of Energy capturing several hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue that could otherwise go into the General Treasury. As a member of the Budget Committee, this is a precedent about which I have some real concern. On the other hand, as I said from the time that the House bill passed and we worked on our own, I am not completely comfortable with the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, including the sale in the bill that is in the President's budget request and House action. Having said all of that, balancing on both sides, I am willing to accept the amendment, as is my comanager from Nevada.”