S10806 — SENATE October 18, 2001 Mr. THOMAS. I thank the Senator broader shooting war, it is possible we Senate is not a single-action Senate. very much. could see a curtailment of supplies out There are 100 Senators, and there are Mr. REID. I say to the Senator from of those oil-rich countries that could multiples of committees and lots of Wyoming, the Democrats have an im- not only create a critical crisis here chairmen, and there are hundreds of portant meeting we are going to have but would drive up fuel prices at the staff people. Clearly, the Energy Com- from 12:30 until 2 o’clock. So during pump dramatically. It is not happening mittee of the Senate should have been, part or all of that time, we will ask to right now. It is not happening largely and could have been, continuing its be in recess. because of a flat economy, less use, and work toward the production of a bill to Mr. THOMAS. Until 2 o’clock? because the OPEC nations recognize come to the floor of the Senate. Mr. REID. From 12:30 to 2 o’clock. that the world economy is soft at this Then, in a rather unprecedented Mr. THOMAS. Then at 2 o’clock we moment and have chosen not to turn move, over a week and a half ago, the would go into morning business for as the spigots on their oil wells down; majority leader of the Senate basically long as people want to speak? therefore, driving up the price. told the chairman of the Energy Com- Mr. REID. Yes. It is temporary, and we all know that mittee to cease and desist. No longer Mr. THOMAS. I thank the Senator. it is temporary. Over a year and a half was he to mark up a bill and get it to the floor. Why? The argument was that f ago, they made it very public that it was their intent to drive the world it was politically too divisive. Too divi- RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME price of crude oil up to $28 to $30 a bar- sive to talk about a national energy The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- rel and to try to sustain that price. It policy, to tell the citizens that this pore. Under the previous order, the is now below that. Senate was going to work with the leadership time is reserved. It is obvious to me and to all of us President to develop a policy to move who watch this issue that they are in- us toward energy self-sufficiency, that f tentionally holding the price down be- is divisive? I don’t think so. I think MORNING BUSINESS cause of the world economy and their that is leadership. I think that is what fear of its softening. our country calls out for at this mo- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- That is one side of the issue. The ment, and people certainly are getting pore. Under the previous order, there other side of the issue for us is a quick it in most instances. will now be a period for the transaction examination of our infrastructure and But in the area of national energy of morning business, not to extend be- the systems of our infrastructure and policy, the leader of the Senate is not yond the hour of 10:30 a.m., with Sen- the failure of that to deliver the kind leading at this moment. Now he says ators permitted to speak therein for up of energy our growing economy and our he has instructed the chairman of the to 10 minutes each. growing Nation needs. We saw that for Energy Committee to craft a bill that The Senator from Minnesota. almost a year in California with rolling they will build up through the office of (The remarks of Mr. WELLSTONE per- blackouts that truly crippled the econ- the majority leader and it will come to taining to the submission of S. Res. 172 omy of that great State, largely be- the floor, or it could come to the floor, are printed in today’s RECORD under cause they had chosen the wrong policy or it is possible to have a vote on it ‘‘Statements on Submitted Resolu- as it related to continuing to develop prior to a recess or adjournment of the tions.’’) energy sources and to upgrade the in- first session. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- frastructure that served the public. Well, that is not good enough. I don’t pore. The Senator from Wyoming. As a result of all of that, we had a believe so. I believe a strong majority Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, what is new President come to town not quite of the Senate agrees with me that it is the allocation of time between now and a year ago and say that without ques- time we dealt with a national energy 10:30? tion one of the most critical needs of policy and let the chips fall where they The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- this Nation is a national energy policy. may, let the votes fall where they may. pore. Senators may speak for up to 10 He established that as a very high pri- As a result of that, FRANK MURKOWSKI, minutes each. ority. our of the committee, Mr. THOMAS. It is not allocated be- Well, while he was doing that, we in I, having served on the committee for a tween the two sides? the Senate, and our colleagues on the good number of years, and a lot of The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- other side of the rotunda in the House, other folks are engaged in trying to pore. No. were busily working at the crafting of craft an energy bill. It won’t be as Mr. THOMAS. I yield 10 minutes to such a policy. We have spent countless broad or expansive as it might have the Senator from Idaho. hours and over 3 years in the Senate, been had we had the will to work the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- with literally 100 or more very detailed committee and had the committee not pore. The Senator from Idaho is recog- investigative kinds of committee gath- been instructed to stand down and de- nized. erings for the purpose of trying to de- sist, but we will introduce that bill. We f termine how that policy ought to look, believe that can be done on Monday. how we ought to shape it, and how we We are working with the administra- ENERGY ought to present it to the American tion. Now we are asking in a very Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I again people. straightforward way, and I think an rise to focus the Senate on an issue All of that work has been done. In honest and responsible way, for the that is without question a high pri- fact, the House worked rather quickly. majority leader of the Senate to give ority one for the Congress and for the They sensed the urgency, as we did, us time to bring his bill to the floor; American people and one I hope we can and before the August recess they had let us bring our bill to the floor and let deal with before we recess or adjourn produced their version of a national en- us work out our differences. Everyone this first session of the 107th Congress. ergy policy. It appeared to me—and I knows the issues at hand and all of us I am talking about the critical need for think to all of us—that by late fall we have a pretty good idea of what a na- a national energy policy. would have a similar bill and we would tional energy policy ought to look like. For over a decade, we have wandered be voting on it on the floor of the Sen- Then we can work with the House. in the energy world without a policy ate because the Energy Committee, Prior to adjournment, or following ad- that truly directed our resources and under the guidance of Chairman BINGA- journment, we can rest assured that a our public policy toward assuring that MAN, was working its will, starting a national energy policy bill will be on our Nation was self-reliant on its pri- . Our attempt was going to be the desk of the President of the United mary energy sources. Over that time, considerably more extensive than that States, so that if there is a dramatic we have grown increasingly dependent of the House. But that work was well energy shock in the future, we will upon foreign sources for those primary underway. have done the right thing. We will have resources. Then comes September 11. We are re- prepared the country, directed our re- As a result, if what is now going on focused for a moment, as you know, sources, directed the infrastructure of in the Middle East were to erupt in a and for all the right reasons. But this this country toward the development

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:35 Dec 20, 2013 Jkt 081600 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 J:\ODA425\1997-2008-FILES-4-SS-PROJECT\2001-SENATE-REC-FILES\RECFILES-NEW\S mmaher on DSKCGSP4G1 with SOCIALSECURITY