[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 136 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12151-S12152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE UNFINISHED AGENDA

  Mr. THOMAS. We have a lot of work to do. We have six or seven 
appropriations bills that we have passed. We have 13 total to do. This 
is the last day of the fiscal year. We will have to pass a continuing 
resolution to go on into October, but we certainly need to continue to 
work on that and get that completed as soon as we can. It is very 
important we do that.
  There are several other bills, of course, that are pending that all 
of us feel strongly about. The Medicare bill is pending and we need to 
do something with pharmaceuticals. There is a great difference of 
opinion as to how we do that. The bottom line is that everybody knows 
we need to do something for Medicare, particularly pharmaceuticals, to 
make them available at a reasonable cost to as many people as we 
possibly can. So those issues are pending.
  I have a particular interest in energy because of my committees and 
because of where I live. Wyoming is an energy-production State. We look 
forward to being able to do more of that. We are in the process of an 
energy policy and had planned to get that completed this week. The 
House and the Senate have both passed energy bills. Most everyone knows 
we need an energy policy. We have not passed one for a good many years, 
and things have changed substantially. So we really need to deal with 
it.
  One of the issues I believe is important, that we are talking about, 
is an energy policy. We are not talking about every detail. We are not 
talking about everything tomorrow. We are talking about an energy 
policy that will give us some guidance into where we are 10, 15, 20 
years from now. Obviously, things are going to change and indeed have 
changed. We have seen a number of the problems: the blackouts, the cost 
of gasoline, the shortage of natural gas, the things that happened in 
California. Those are part of what we are talking about, but we are 
also talking about the future. In this bill, we have things that have 
to do with renewable energy, finding ways to use wind energy, finding 
ways to use ethanol to extend the use of gas. We are talking about 
renewables. We are talking about doing some things with hydro and 
making that more accessible to much of the country.
  Obviously, one of the questions we have is how to move energy around 
the country. It has to do with the blackouts and has to do with 
California. We

[[Page S12152]]

are talking about, how transmission can be operated, how to get new 
transmission incentives to invest in transmission costs. We find 
ourselves in a position of using more electricity, for example, but not 
really keeping up production to meet our demands. In some parts of the 
country--for instance, Wyoming--where we have lots of coal, we could 
generate a great deal of electricity, but then there has to be a way to 
move it to the market. Those have been very difficult things.
  We have to have research. I mentioned coal. We ought to have more 
research so we can ensure that coal is clean and we can have clean air 
as we generate that fossil resource that is the most abundant resource 
we have in fossil fuel. We need then, of course, in the shorter term, 
to continue to encourage production. We find ourselves almost 60 
percent dependent on foreign oil. We have a good deal of oil in our 
country and we need to find ways to extract more of that, keeping in 
mind at the same time the protection of the environment.

  We can do that. There is ample evidence we can do that. So we have to 
deal with things such as incentives for unusual kinds of oil and gas 
that are more expensive to discover and to produce. We have to look at 
what we can do with the potential resources in Alaska, for example, 
whether it be having gas available from there, build a pipeline down so 
it is there, or whether we talk about ANWR. These are places where 
there are substantial sources of energy but they are not really 
available to us. These are some of the things we need to talk about.
  We had a bill last year in both Houses. We had a committee working on 
it last year. We were not able to produce a policy. This year, the same 
thing is happening. We passed something in the Senate; there was 
something else passed in the House. We need to put together the 
differences, and there are differences, quite a few in terms of the 
amount of ethanol we use and the subsidies that are there for ethanol.
  We have been talking about what to do about electricity and how much 
authority they have in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. That 
is controversial--how we can develop techniques, given regional 
differences in energy, without having the Federal Government in charge 
of everything we do. These are called regional transmission 
organizations, where the States can make the decisions within that for 
interstate movement. Then when you move between the RTOs, there has to 
be some Federal involvement.
  These are some problems that are not insurmountable. We can get them 
done. Of course, not everyone is going to agree on every detail, but 
that is not uncommon in the Senate. We have to give away some things. 
Some things are different in Alabama or Oregon, and we need to 
reconcile those differences and put together a national energy policy.
  That is our challenge. I mention that to emphasize that hopefully we 
will not be here forever. We will be able to adjourn this session, 
hopefully in November sometime--early November, if we are lucky, or 
later. We have a lot to do prior to that time, but we can do it if we 
will bring it to the floor, if we have our legitimate concerns voiced 
in legitimate debates, but not just hold up legislation for various 
political reasons. I think that makes us look inefficient and unaware 
of what we have to do, and we have a great deal to do.
  I believe our time has expired. Mr. President, I yield the floor and 
suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that I 
may speak as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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