Alan Simpson: “I have to say that that is just kind of a bogus argument. It is not that we are saying to the President: You have to…”

“I have to say that that is just kind of a bogus argument. It is not that we are saying to the President: You have to spend this money in this area. We are rebalancing the portfolio. We are not spending any more money than the President recommended in the entire bill--well, we are about $285 million, or $259 million, but most of that is in the weapons activities. But we are rebalancing the portfolio. We are spending less than the President wants to spend in other areas. So to say, oh, we are just trying to spend money is not the case. We have different priorities. We want an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which is what this bill represents. We spend money in solar, we spend money in wind, we spend money in nuclear, and we spend money in fossil energy. Those are all important. So just because the gentleman doesn't like fossil energy doesn't mean that we ought to do away with the research on it. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”