David Obey: “let me say that I think in general, within the spectacularly inadequate allocation provided the subcommittee, that Mr.…”

“let me say that I think in general, within the spectacularly inadequate allocation provided the subcommittee, that Mr. Hobson and Mr. Visclosky have done a very credible job on this bill, and I especially appreciate the way Mr. Hobson has approached this bill on a bipartisan basis. Having said that, I would hope that Members would vote against the previous question on the rule. As Mr. Visclosky pointed out, for the 25 years since Jimmy Carter left office, this country has been in a listless drift as far as energy policy is concerned. Energy conservation, energy research programs, have been funded at woefully low levels in comparison to where they were during the high point of Jimmy Carter's presidency. The problem is that, after Carter left office, his successors, especially Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush, systematically shrank those budgets in real terms, and so today, we are paying the price in terms of scarce energy and high energy prices. We have some choices to make. The Congress has already determined this year, the majority party has, that it is important this year to provide $40 billion in supersized tax cuts to people who make over $1 million a year. {time} 2145 In contrast, Mr.…”