[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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