[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2008

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I was unable to be present for 
votes during the late afternoon and evening of May 22, 2008. For the 
information of our colleagues and my constituents, I want the Record to 
reflect how I would have voted on the following votes I missed that 
day.
  On rollcall 355, on the Akin amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``no.''
  On rollcall 356, on the Franks amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``no.''
  On rollcall 357, on the Tierney amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``no.''
  On rollcall 358, on the Pearce amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``no.''
  On rollcall 359, on the Lee amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``yes.''
  On rollcall 360, on the Braley amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``yes.''
  On rollcall 361, on the Price amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``yes.''
  On rollcall 362, on the Holt amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``yes.''
  On rollcall 363, on the McGovern amendment to H.R. 5658, I would have 
voted ``yes.''
  On rollcall 364, on the Motion to Recommit with instructions the 
Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 
(H.R. 5658), I would have voted ``no.''
  I would have done so because the Motion to Recommit--as written--
would have effectively killed the bill by sending it back to Committee. 
I also objected to what the Motion attempted to do. It would have 
repealed Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which 
ensures that federal agencies do not procure or promote alternative 
fuels that emit, on a lifecycle basis, more greenhouse gas emissions 
than equivalent conventional fuels produced from conventional petroleum 
sources. This provision relates primarily to efforts of the Department 
of Defense to obtain half of its domestically used fuel from domestic 
synthetic sources by 2016. Specifically, the Air Force is pursuing 
``coal-to-liquid'' fuel (CTL). According to both the EPA and DOE, 
liquid coal produces double the global warming emissions compared to 
conventional gasoline.
  An amendment adopted on the floor clarified Section 526 to ensure 
that federal agencies could procure conventional fuels that contain 
incidental amounts of unconventional fuels. With the passage of this 
amendment, it is my belief that there is no reason to repeal Section 
526, since the Department of Defense has said that it intends to pursue 
CTL with carbon capture and sequestration. In addition, the Defense 
Science Board Task Force on Energy recommended that if DOD decides to 
provide financial backing to synthetic fuel production plants, it 
should avoid investing in processes that exceed the carbon footprint of 
petroleum.
  On rollcall 365, on Passage of the Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (H.R. 5658), I would have voted 
``yes.''
  On rollcall 366, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as 
Amended, to H. Res. 986, a resolution recognizing the courage and 
sacrifice of those members of the United States Armed Forces who were 
held as prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict and calling for a 
full accounting of the 1,729 members of the Armed Forces who remain 
unaccounted for from the Vietnam conflict, I would have voted ``yes.''
  The resolution recognizes the 35th anniversary of ``Operation 
Homecoming,'' when the first wave of the longest-held POWs from Vietnam 
left that country to return to the United States. We honor those POWs, 
but we also honor those brave heroes who fought and died for our 
country but never returned home.

                          ____________________