[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 57 (Thursday, April 29, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4625-S4626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of 
morning business for up to 90 minutes. The first 30 minutes will be 
under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee, the second 
30 minutes will be controlled by this side of the aisle, and the final 
30 will be divided between Senators McConnell and Feinstein.
  Following that morning business period, the Senate will resume 
consideration of S. 150, the Internet access tax measure. There will be 
an additional hour for debate prior to the first of the scheduled 
cloture votes. The first vote will be on invoking cloture on the 
Daschle ethanol amendment to the Internet bill. If cloture fails, we 
will go immediately to a cloture vote on the Domenici energy package. 
Finally, if cloture has not been invoked to that point, the Senate will 
proceed to a cloture vote on the pending McCain substitute regarding 
the Internet tax moratorium.
  Having said that, it has been my goal from the start to finish this 
Internet legislation. This week has been set aside for consideration of 
this matter. I hope we can stay late and finish the bill.
  Mr. President, I briefly wish to comment on the first two cloture 
votes, opening with the fact that I am a strong supporter of the 
ethanol provision that the Democratic leader has pulled out of the 
Energy bill and offered as an amendment to the original language of the 
Internet tax bill. In fact, I joined the minority leader in offering 
very similar language to the Energy bill when it was considered on the 
Senate floor last summer.
  While I do support the renewable fuels standard as a matter of 
policy, there are many other important provisions included in the 
Energy bill that at this point I am not prepared to abandon.
  We in the United States need a comprehensive national energy policy. 
We have gone on for way too long without that policy, and we see the 
consequences of that every day. We see it in our rising dependence on 
foreign oil. We see it in last summer's blackout in the Northeast and 
today's record high gas prices, and in skyrocketing natural gas prices, 
which are hurting farmers and manufacturers and consumers alike.
  The slimmed-down Energy bill that Chairman Domenici has offered as a 
second-degree amendment addresses each of these issues. It lays out a 
balanced national energy policy that will lessen our reliance on 
foreign energy, thereby enhancing both our economic security as well as 
our national security. Senator Domenici's plan will help diversify our 
energy supply and encourage the use of renewable energy sources such as 
wind and solar energy and ethanol, all of which decreases our reliance 
on foreign oil and increases our own energy independence.
  Moreover, it will facilitate the construction of the Alaska natural 
gas pipeline. This is perhaps the single most important thing we can do 
to increase our supply of natural gas, by

[[Page S4626]]

transporting it from Alaska's North Slope to the lower 48 States.
  The Domenici amendment will also strengthen our electricity grid and 
make it easier to build transmission lines. With these improvements we 
will be better able to prevent blackouts such as the one last summer 
that blanketed 50 million Americans from the Northeast to the Midwest.
  The Domenici plan promotes clean coal technology, hydrogen fuel 
cells, clean nuclear energy, and domestic oil and gas production 
consistent with protecting the environment. It also encourages 
conservation and energy efficiency.
  We need all of these components in order to have an effective 
national energy policy. While the ethanol mandate is vitally important, 
we need a comprehensive plan that addresses all of our energy needs. 
That is why I urge my colleagues to oppose cloture on the Daschle 
amendment and to support cloture on the Domenici amendment. We should 
not break apart the Energy bill and attempt to pass it piecemeal. 
America needs an energy plan that increases our economic security, our 
energy independence, and adequately meets the demands of the 21st 
century.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________