[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4919-4920]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ENERGY POLICY MODERNIZATION BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this week we have seen what can be 
accomplished on behalf of the American people with a Senate that is 
back to work under the Republican majority.
  We just passed two broad bipartisan bills aimed at protecting 
consumers and modernizing our energy policies, respectively, and both 
bills take important steps to bolster national security as well.
  The passage of the Energy Policy Modernization Act yesterday marks 
the first broad energy legislation to move through the Senate since the 
Bush administration. In the years since that time, our country ``has 
gone from fearing oil and gas shortages to becoming the leading 
producer of both fuels'' as one paper put it.
  It is clear this energy legislation is much needed when it comes to 
bringing our aging infrastructure and policies in line with current and 
future demands.
  I thank the Energy Committee chair, Senator Murkowski, and the 
ranking member, Senator Cantwell, for working to advance this 
legislation. It is important for our country. It will help Americans 
save more energy, produce more energy, and pay less for energy. To 
paraphrase Senator Murkowski, it is another example of how the Senate 
is back to work.

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