[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9373-S9374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005--CONFERENCE REPORT--Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 2 minutes of debate on the
conference report accompanying H.R. 6, the Energy bill. Who yields
time?
Mr. DOMENICI. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from New Mexico.
[[Page S9374]]
Mr. DOMENICI. What is the issue before the Senate?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The issue before the Senate now is the
conference report accompanying H.R. 6. There is 2 minutes equally
divided.
Mr. DOMENICI. I understand the distinguished Senator from Wisconsin
desires to make a point of order.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I have 1 minute; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
The Senate will be in order.
The Senator is recognized.
Mr. FEINGOLD. I have four fundamental concerns with regard to the
Energy conference report: it digs us deeper into a budget black hole,
it fails to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, it rolls back
important consumer protections, and it undermines some of the
fundamental environmental laws our citizens rely upon.
The conference report includes direct spending of more than $2.2
billion over the 2006-2010 period, exceeding the amount allocated by
the budget resolution, so I hope my colleagues will join me in
sustaining a budget point of order.
Mr. President, I make a point of order that the pending conference
report violates section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Was the motion just made?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. A point of order was made.
Mr. DOMENICI. I move to waive the point of order subject to
appropriate provisions of the Budget Act.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico moves to waive the
budget point of order.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I have 2 minutes; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. One minute.
Mr. DOMENICI. One minute. First, this is almost not a point of order.
It is $40 million a year. That is because we had $2 billion in direct
spending, $2 billion in this whole bill. What we did, when we ended up
doing all of the estimating, it was 2.2. So anybody who thinks this
point of order is a real budget point of order, it is a nothing point
of order. Many times the budget process takes $50 million and rolls it
because they are trying to make things meet, and here we are having a
point of order making it sound like a bunch--$40 million.
The last comment is this bill reduces the deficit because the tax
writing committee came in $6 billion under. We are $200 million a year
over. Do the arithmetic. The bill reduces the deficit; it doesn't raise
it. I think this is the very reason the waiver provisions in the Budget
Act were provided, for mistakes like these in estimating. That is why
we have a waiver section. Members should vote in favor of the Domenici
motion to waive.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion of
the Senator from New Mexico to waive the Budget Act.
Mr. CRAIG. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coleman). The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 71, nays 29, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 212 Leg.]
YEAS--71
Akaka
Alexander
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Burr
Byrd
Cantwell
Coburn
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Craig
Crapo
Dayton
DeMint
DeWine
Dodd
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Frist
Graham
Grassley
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Johnson
Landrieu
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Mikulski
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Obama
Pryor
Roberts
Rockefeller
Salazar
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Talent
Thomas
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
NAYS--29
Bayh
Biden
Boxer
Carper
Chafee
Chambliss
Clinton
Cornyn
Corzine
Feingold
Gregg
Isakson
Jeffords
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Martinez
McCain
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sununu
Wyden
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thomas). On this vote, the yeas are 71,
the nays are 29. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn
having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to and the point
of order falls.
The question now is on agreeing to the conference report.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, have the yeas and nays been ordered?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. They have not.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the
conference report.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the conference report.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 74, nays 26, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 213 Leg.]
YEAS--74
Akaka
Alexander
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Burr
Byrd
Cantwell
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
Dayton
DeMint
DeWine
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Frist
Graham
Grassley
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johnson
Kohl
Landrieu
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Mikulski
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Obama
Pryor
Roberts
Rockefeller
Salazar
Santorum
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Talent
Thomas
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
NAYS--26
Biden
Boxer
Carper
Chafee
Clinton
Corzine
Dodd
Feingold
Feinstein
Gregg
Jeffords
Kennedy
Kerry
Kyl
Lautenberg
Leahy
Martinez
McCain
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Reed
Reid
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sununu
Wyden
The conference report was agreed to.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. BINGAMAN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
____________________