Russ Feingold: “over the past year, and on more occasions than I'd like to remember, I have talked about the abuse of process that…”

“over the past year, and on more occasions than I'd like to remember, I have talked about the abuse of process that proponents of drilling in the Arctic Refuge have resorted to in their attempts to pass an unpopular and misguided measure. Sadly, the Senate faces the very same issue today. Let me unequivocally state that talk of attaching an extraneous and obviously controversial provision regarding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the Department of Defense appropriations conference report--a provision that was not included in either the House or Senate version of the bill--is flat out irresponsible and should be rejected. This last-ditch effort to attach the Arctic Refuge drilling provision to the Department of Defense appropriations bill--or any other bill that is a ``must pass'' before we adjourn for the year--really reflects poorly on this body. And, what does it mean for greater mischief down the line? That whenever we can't move an unpopular proposal through the regular legislative process, there's no need to worry: you just attach it to an important funding bill? Is this the precedent that we, members of both parties, want to set? I sincerely hope not. Let me be very clear: I would prefer to be talking about setting a new path for our country's energy policy--a path that reduces our use of fossil fuels while favoring renewable sources of energy.…”