[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29840]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  FILNER MOTION TO INSTRUCT THE CONFEREES ON THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 
                                  2003

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, without doubt, I am sympathetic 
to the purpose behind this motion. I am a staunch supporter of smart 
environmental regulations, and I oppose the approach that the Bush 
Administration has taken toward stripping regulations on clean air and 
water. However, after speaking with people on both sides of this issue, 
I have concluded that this motion is not the right approach.
  In New Mexico, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, with 
Governor Bill Richardson as the state's representative, is currently 
working toward model regulations for management of stormwater pollution 
in the state. In the meantime, the local oil and gas companies continue 
to follow general guidelines. I am encouraged by the work being done at 
the state level to address this issue, as I believe it is important to 
work with all interests to generate a collaborative solution.
  Although I will vote in opposition to this non-binding motion, I 
continue to be disturbed by many of the provisions in the Energy Policy 
Act of 2003. Unfortunately, the way this bill has been crafted echoes 
the practice of the Administration to put corporations before the 
environment, before public opinion, and before logic that tells us we 
need to gear our energy policy toward future needs--not toward the 
profit of industry. The exclusion of Democrats from the entire 
conference is reason to believe the bill is not as balanced as its 
authors claim.
  I hope that my many concerns are addressed in the final conference 
report and I look forward to a vote on the final bill.

                          ____________________