[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S3527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ENERGY POLICY

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise to speak about where we are, where 
we are going, and some of the difficulties we are finding in getting 
there. I was listening earlier as the Senator from New York and the 
Senator from Illinois were discussing some of the issues they consider 
to be problems with this administration.
  They talked about the cost of energy. One of the reasons we are 
having some problems with the cost of energy is we have not been able 
to get an Energy bill passed that gives us any direction because it has 
been obstructed by the other side of the aisle, and it continues to be. 
So that is not a surprise.
  They talked a lot about the health care problems. One of the reasons 
we have health care problems is the obstruction on the other side that 
will not allow us to move forward with malpractice insurance.
  The same thing, of course, is true with Medicare. They were critical 
of doing something with Medicare. I remind my colleagues this is the 
first time in 30 years we have done something to help change Medicare, 
and it is going to be implemented over a period of time because there 
will need to be some changes in it. For the first time, people will be 
given an opportunity to get pharmaceuticals at less cost, and we will 
begin to have an opportunity to change Medicare from the way it was 
originally structured. It is very difficult to do that with the 
obstruction on the other side.
  It is frustrating to be in the Senate where we are supposed to be 
making decisions, supposed to be moving forward. We do not all agree, 
that is certainly true, but we do have a system that allows us to go 
forward. That is what votes are for, but we cannot take votes. We 
continue to sit here and only talk about things.
  I am particularly interested in the energy issue, of course. I think 
it is certainly one that we have talked about for a very long time. It 
now becomes more important because of the cost increases, because of 
the difficulties we are having with energy. It begins to be more 
apparent that we need to have an energy policy that has some plans for 
where we go over the next 5 or 10 years. We need to do that as soon as 
we can.
  One of the things the Bush administration, Vice President Cheney and 
the President, did was to seek to have an energy policy. All we have 
heard are complaints and criticisms and still there is obstruction to 
having an energy policy, when it is so clear that that is precisely 
what we need to have.
  We have higher gas prices at the pumps, partly because OPEC has 
backed off somewhat, but also because we have made it necessary for 
refiners to put into place about 18 different combinations of fuel. 
There have been unexpected disruptions from Venezuela and elsewhere. We 
are having higher home heating bills because of the stress on natural 
gas where the consumption is going up much faster than the production, 
and it is predicted to do that in the future for some time.
  So we are still talking about these issues. People are more aware of 
them because of the blackout, because of the cost, and because of the 
difficulties. So we need to make some changes, but we need a policy. We 
are not talking about all that we can do instantly. We are saying we 
need a general policy, and that is what this policy is. It has to do 
with alternative sources. It has to do with efficiency. It has to do 
with conservation. It has to do with more research so that, for 
instance, there can be more clean coal burned.

  Today, the Wall Street Journal said finally people are saying we are 
having trouble with natural gas because of the demand, but coal is the 
fuel that we have with the most fossil reserves in this country, and we 
can do it in a clean way. Particularly, western coal is low in Btu and 
low in C02.
  We need to be moving in that direction. We need a balanced bill, and 
there are things we can do to accomplish that. We are going to have to 
change the fuels over a period of time.
  Some, particularly on the other side of the aisle, say: Oh, well, we 
have to start using alternatives up to 40 percent in the next 5 years.
  Right now, of all of our energy production, 3 percent is produced by 
alternatives such as wind. We can do much more in the future, and we 
hope that we do, but we cannot turn that corner right away. It is a 
very difficult thing to do.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator from Wyoming has 
expired.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I certainly urge that we stop obstructing 
and move forward with an energy policy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming yields the floor.
  The Senator from Oregon is recognized for 10 minutes.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask the Senator if he will yield for a 
unanimous consent.
  Mr. SMITH. Yes, I yield to the Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, our remaining time will be yielded to the 
Senator from Wisconsin, Mr. Feingold.

                          ____________________