[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15432-S15433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY ACT OF 2007--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr. Dodd), and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily 
absent.
  Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Arizona (Mr. McCain) and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Hagel).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 86, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 430 Leg.]

                                YEAS--86

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--8

     Barrasso
     Coburn
     DeMint
     Enzi
     Hatch
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Stabenow

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Biden
     Clinton
     Dodd
     Hagel
     McCain
     Obama
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate concurs 
in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the title of the 
bill, and the motions to reconsider are laid on the table.
  The Senator from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for a 
couple of minutes on the subject of the bill that passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, many years ago, exactly 6, Senator 
Snowe and I began this effort. Prior to that time--and I give credit to 
Senators Dick Bryan and Slade Gorton, who began this effort back in 
1993 with me. We tried to do a sense of the Senate. We didn't succeed. 
Then Senator Snowe and I did the SUV loophole closer, and we didn't 
succeed. Then suddenly the times changed and we had introduced this 
bill in committee. Both the chairman, Senator Inouye, the ranking 
member, Senator Stevens, and the Commerce Committee allowed us to come 
before them and ply our troth of this bill. And we did. The Commerce 
Committee unanimously passed out the bill. That was in itself a stellar 
moment.
  Then there was the House and there was the negotiation with 
Representative Dingell and others. A bill finally

[[Page S15433]]

emerged--a lot of trial, a lot of tribulation. But I owe a great deal 
to Senator Snowe. I want her to know that. I thank her for her 
solidarity, for her intelligence, for working with me over these past 6 
years. It has been a wonderful bipartisan relationship and one I will 
treasure.
  I also thank Senator Inouye as chairman of the committee and Senator 
Stevens, Senators Cantwell, Kerry, Carper, Dorgan, and my pal and 
friend, Senator Boxer.
  We had some great staff from my office. I thank them: John Watts, 
Matt Nelson, my LD, Chris Thompson, who participated in much of the 
negotiations. But I also give kudos to a member of Senator Inouye's 
Commerce Committee staff, and his name is David Strickland. David 
Strickland knows more about automobiles than most people all put 
together in this Chamber. There may be a few exceptions, but I have 
never met anyone who knows more about the automobile. He conducted the 
negotiations with the House and worked very late hours. I want him to 
know how much his talent, his technical expertise is appreciated.
  I see Senator Carper. I think I mentioned him. We had many 
conversations over the recess on the bill. I thank him for his support 
and for his commitment to this bill.
  This is not an easy bill to do because we know we have automobile 
producers in this country, and we know these companies have problems. 
Yet we also know time is marching on and the need to move fuel 
efficiency, which has not happened for 32 years, is important if we are 
going to solve the problems of climate change. This is a first big 
step.
  Transportation is about a third of our greenhouse gas emissions. By 
2025, this bill will reduce these emission from automobiles by about 18 
percent from projected levels. It is about, by 2020, a 40-percent 
increase in mileage of automobiles. So it is important.
  Oh, there is so much we do in this Chamber that is minutiae and often 
unrewarded. Once in a great while, you participate in the making of a 
bill which can change how things are done in the country. Once in a 
while, we all together can make a difference, and that happens when it 
is bipartisan. This bill was bipartisan. For that, I am very grateful.
  So for all those who fought the good fight, who talked and walked the 
march, I say thank you. I think we have achieved something that is 
major, that is real, and that will greatly improve the situation. It 
may not be perfect, but the perfect, as they say, should not be the 
enemy of the good.
  I also pay tribute and thank Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow. I 
know this is difficult, and I know how I would feel. I also believe the 
greater good of the United States is served by this legislation and, 
after all, that is all of our objectives.
  I look forward to working with everyone in the future. It is a very 
happy evening for me. I thank everyone very much.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.

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