navigation improvements environmental restoration advanced scientific research applied energy research maintenance of our nuclear stockpile and nuclear nonproliferation activities the total resources across an ever enlarging set of projects and frankly congress has been a big part of that problem giving the corps more and more projects to do but frankly not enough money to do them are this will save money i support the administration's attempt to apply performance based right here so that resources are applied to the highest priority items this is still a work in progress and we know that the range of remaining cards remaining benefits consequence of focusing limited funding on the most important projects is if you're out of embers will receive funding for core water projects in their districts we added two hundred fifty one million to address member need for additional water projects and in a full accounting of these contracts the current year is a transition from the old way of doing business to a new one in which the corps is more accountable for how it uses the funds that congress appropriates for water projects frankly in my opinion these changes were long overdue and we're confident they will put the corps on a more secure feeling in the future reserves the balance of his time the gentleman from indiana the water infrastructure of our country maintaining maintenance of our strategic deterrence protecting our nation from nuclear terrorism continuing u s research leadership particularly in the  energy technology to help us reverse their growing dependence on imported oil i will be joining my chairman in support of the bill last year served as a major eye opener as regards to the protection of our responsibilities are multiple should remember that the u s army corps of engineers tool in our hands and we must make good use of it and keep it sharp last year the energy water appropriations act reform and this is down to a particular concern of those members whose projects could not use appropriated funds in past years but are now ready to go and looking for restoration of these funds that will make for a start in solving this problem by allocating and acted level the bill contains critical funding to support a vigorous civil works program for the u s corps of engineers focusing limited resources on completing high priority projects this legislation also continues a number of significant reforms to improve project execution and financial management the bill also includes a number of important energy initiatives including efforts to strengthen clean energy technolog energy supply and conservation programs and fossil energy research and development i'd like to make two additional points regarding this bill first member projects funding in the bill before us today some two hundred million dollars or sixteen percent below last two years level this bill also terminated for programs resulting in four hundred sixty point five million dollars in taxpayer savings mr speaker this energy and water bill is a fine product worthy of all of our support one more time i'd like to come out to mr hobson mr but this process before their work together and back to balance my time  seven billion in energy and water development two hundred ninety nine million over the budget request and three hundred twenty six million about the current fiscal year the budget request proposes a number of major new initiatives sort of part of energy in fiscal year two generate these accounts at or above the requested funding levels funding our bill for research environmental energy increases sixty five percent over last year research and development on solar energy increasing seventy percent over last year research on  million per year for each year that the reprise tories delayed in addition the nuclear regulatory commission may not be able to issue a wage confidence determination for any new reactors at the federal government does not provide some tangible solution drives me out of my mind i think most members if they would listen to the largest environmental cleanup project that country the way treatment plan hanford it's billions over budget and six years behind schedule the cost growth for this project is an increase six billion dollars and only five years and frankly we don't know what it will cost nor can make out we directed apartment to make several major management changes to this project that apartment much complete ninety percent of resign the court for construction of major facilities and i must impose a tighter linkage between contract payments and contract performance most importantly our bill requires a nuclear regulatory commission oversight of nuclear safe clean water clean up activities at hanford primarily to mitigate the risk of radioactive contamination from the columbia river total funding for environmental cleanup activities both defense related non defen that they were no longer have any interest in proceeding with their own box project so there's no longer any compelling nonproliferation reason to build the mox plant earlier this week i met the head of the roster  still fully committed to destroying thirty four metric tons of their surplus plutonium to do so they are interested in pursuing less expensive approaches in partnership with us and funny fifty percent of the cost themselves when it commercialization of current technologies and demonstrating new ones with the support of chairman hobson conservation technology investments were increased in full committee resulting in full funding for solid state lighting one of the most promising technologies for saving energy and for the request of the governor's ethanol coalition for development of eighty five infrastructure however i remain concerned that the clean coal power initiatives will have to wait one or more additional years issuing its next solicitation for research proposals the department of energy argued that it is too late to include new technologies in the future gen demonstration plants but given the abundance of domestic coal as an energy source i believe we will be seeking new technologies to improve our use of coal for many years to come our country needs a robust mix of energy sources for so that we can adapt rapidly to changes in the world markets we have  developing nuclear power as a domestic source of energy that does not emit greenhouse gases the congress provided funds to pursue a competitive process for choosing sites for the integrated reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel including program that will provide funds for work to refine the ideas included in the gene concept i believe that the level and the bill correct level and will oppose any person to make further cuts in this area high level radioactive waste repository we must continue to support its opening and not give up even though its opening has been delayed until at least twenty seventeenth through we may need to find a way stream  future the character of much of the ways may change and change so as to lessen the long term radioactive activity of the waste but we have today a waste of non character awaiting permanent disposal of course we speak of the waste generated by the creation and maintenance of our nuclear deterrent i do turn from which we have all benefit cuts to the science account to do were estimated to reduce support for two thousand two four hundred researchers over two years this hardly a major step forward but it is a step forward and i would trust my collings and to the administration that further major increases will be required to support the physical sciences at application for new nuclear plants i also forsee additional regulatory responsibilities for the and are safe for example i see the need for n r c to become involved in issues of nuclear safety at the camp or to waste treatment plant i believe one of the but i believe we are one of the best secretaries of energy that we have a long time to do a budget requests for fiscal year two thousand and seven with very clear policy choices made by the secretary in favor of science research and applied energy research but we don't rubber stamp every one of the secretaries for already very much respect that he has been willing to articulate his vision for the department of energy and has been willing to make some hard funding some choices to support that vision frankly we wish we saw some of that same vision and leadership in the corps of engineers the devastating consequences of the hurricanes last year demonstrates what happen when we make the wrong investments in critical water resources infrastructure the gulf hurricanes serve as a wake up call for many other parts of the countries such as sacramento that have inadequate flood protection  to meet these changing times the committee determined to work with the corps with our colleagues in a crime when outside groups out the core craft a better vision for the nation's water resources in the future our country is also an energy crisis and we have a responsibility to do everything we can in our bill to do that i feel that our ability and the limits of our jurisdiction does that our bill provides a living and funding increases for research on renewable energy and and we last year took out a number on the senate when we got to conference we have a very responsible house bill do you want to see a real earmark reform that we are encourage our colleagues in the other body to live by the same earmark together this is truly a bipartisan bill that represents the best of this congress in my opinion this is the way i believe our continued our constituents expect their representatives to work together and i'm proud of our bipartisan process giovanni just got married last week we tried to advise him but he didn't listen so he got married and he turned the department of energy and i'm going to probably hear from a lot of people about that but i've been married to my first wife for forty seven years so i guess five hundred and fifty million dollars on this boondoggle in the middle of the nevada desert it is an insult to the taxpayers of this nation that we even consider spending another half a billion dollars on a proposal that threaten cities in forty three states threatens our environment threatens the health and safety of more than two million southern nevada residents and threatens to build a great nation's banks i ask my friends on both sides of the there have been massive ongoing problems with quality assurance efforts at yucca mountain including evidence that workers at this site deliberately falsified their own work e mails written by employees conducting experiment mountain describes keeping two sets of books mr chairman one with the real information one for the regulators allow me to read these emails this is as good as it's going to get if they need more proof i will be happy to make up let anybody talk to me about down this project is a slap in the face any scientist worthy of that title but we can't stop there mr chairman it is vital my colleagues also remember that the thousand years and will remain toxic for nearly one million years are we so arrogant to think that mankind actually has the ability to safeguard all of the nuclear waste ever generated in this country in one place waste over decades traveling along our roads and railways there is a better solution mr chairman leave the waste at the plants where it's produced and secure dry cask storage where it could safely for the next hundred years  dumping ground for all of this nation's nuclear waste we're now supposed to be the dumping ground for the entire world's nuclear waste mr chairman i strongly support the efforts of my colleagues to eliminate funding for gene map it's the chair would admonish members or would monitor people watching in the galleries not to show their approval or disapproval of debate on the house floor the gentleman from indiana would appropriations bill also provides no funding for those technology transfer centers either mr chairman i am pleased that this bill does substantially increase funding for energy efficiency for renewable energy for basic research of the valley wish that it was priest more still but i'm concerned mr chairman that we are ignoring solutions to our energy problems that are available to us now i'm concerned that we are not supporting moving technology out a laboratory and into the marketplace where such technolog without objection i rise in strong support of this bill and i want to commend chairman hobson for the outstanding matter which has brought to this house to this point cooperation fully minority the majority cooperation fully with the authorizing committees and how refreshing that is to see us working hand in glove and common cause of this bill is very important in the priorities that sets the president's american competitive i mean should give is fully funded the president's advanced energy initiative which is fully funded except for a wise reductions in nuclear reprocessing i want to thank secretary bodman and undersecretary orbach for the long needed attention they have brought to science programs department they are two of the finest senior public officials are any administration and we're very fortunate to have them at their post as the national academy of sciences points out in the report rising above the gathering and this bill has addressed nucular issues protecting the nuclear stockpile seeking to address to waste issues navigation issues issues that relate to lessons learned from katrina program in terms of fusion there combination with domestic fusion and yes on a more parochial level mr chairman thank you for the endorsement of the good work that we do in the new york new jersey region in terms of keeping the support coming to congress i've been advocating for increased resources for research in the physical sciences and for the department of energy audits of science in particular and i was really gratified that the chairman contains vital work in fossil energy nuclear energy renewable energy conservation such a diverse portfolio of technologies is necessary to can secure our energy future technology directly represent wise investments and deserve broad support at the same time i want to register my concern about the discrete decrease to funding for the globe or global nuclear energy partnership or g map we must begin developing advanced fuel cycle technologies now i know the chairman of the subcommittee appreciates your specs and wants to do it right sort of lie which is why i look forward to continuing our work on this issue of common interest without any real back the balance of my time that that i have with gas prices so high we don't really want to build extra cost into the into the refining that we have to do for our gasoline so i thank you for a portion of the two thousand five energy policy act the rocky mountain well field testing center in wyoming the energy bill last year authorizes funding so we can actually drill horizontally fifty thousand feet out of what we currently do and again it's something that will help us more recently price product i do have some concerns about the lack of flood control funding because i only represent an energy producing area but we're also a low lying area and the core four point nine eight billion cut from thirty so we don't have those massive floods like we did in two thousand and one and i hope the committee would look at the cost benefit ratio so we don't see those floods in these homes are not vacation homes are blue collar folks homes that actually work at those refineries that reflected in from the state of new york for two minutes place the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes thank you speaker and i thank my friend from indiana for yielding time if anyone needs to find an example of bipartisanship and good work product but they need to look no further than the energy and water bill under the leadership of dave hobson and peter visclosky two to find midwestern gentlemen who know how to work together and lead in a bipartisan way toward energy independence and a stronger a stronger more effective army corps of engineers one issue within the bill that i would like to address mr speaker and that is the department of energy's recent pronouncement that it would no longer reimburse department of energy contractors for contributions to defined benefit pension plans and medical plans it's an overly broad and unprecedented position one cabinet agency is attempting to prohibit contributions to divine defined benefit plans at the very moment the house and senate conference conferees are negotiating over provisions to strengthen the financial solvency of the very same defined benefit plans we should not be allowed to unilaterally mandate a reimbursement policy the white house has publicly supported reforms to our country's pension laws to strengthen month the department of energy announced with no notice or consultation with congress that would stop its contractors from offering traditional pension plans to new employees and cut back on health benefits as well as starting next year over and over the next several years this radical new policy would torpedo the retirement benefits of over one hundred thousand employees working on a nation's most vital research and energy projects this unilateral action by the department of energy is a mistake in many ways it sends a message to the federal government is no longer supports one of the country's bedrock retirement systems department rules shuffle employees into four hundred one k savings plans a vehicle that puts at risk of the employer all of the employees let's be honest the four  plans were never designed to meet comprehensive retirement needs of employees their savings plans not retirement plans but i want to commend chairman hobson and ranking member of this coffee for addressing this issue in this legislation it would stop the department of energy from mercer human resources consulting pension rights center major energy department laboratories and facilities are spread out throughout the country these contractors from institutions like the university of california i was state university major companies like h well for johnson controls a westinghouse thousands of workers at the energy department facility to oak ridge tennessee hanford washington i don't know if all of idaho portsmouth ohio and los alamos new mexico have jobs with traditional pension plans and comprehensive benefits we need as we try to keep on the cutting edge of competitiveness on a worldwide competition to make sure that we can track the best that this country has to offer in terms of scientists engineers computer technicians and the rest and i want to thank the chairman and the but also doing the oversight work really working through some some very difficult issues and we would not be able to do that without the extraordinarily talented professional staff that we have on both sides and i wan thank this is a very important bill for for iowa for the country we have got an energy facility the names laboratory in ames iowa obviously the army corps of engineers and the transportation issues we have on the mississippi a lot of different issues riverfront improvements in fort dodge other environmental conservation projects iran but this is a very very good bill accomplished  regarding funding for energy efficiency programs at a member by ms davis of california regarding funding for industrial assessment program and amendment by mr andrews or mr leach regarding funding for the global threat reduction initiative and when the committee of the whole house rolls earlier today all time for general debate had expired pursuant to the rule of the bill should be considered for amendment under the five minute rule pursuant to the order of the house today no amendment to the bill may be offered from indiana the gentleman from the chairman i reserve a point of order on the gentleman indicated in my opening remarks i fully support the committee's bill but the chairman the members of the committee have done an excellent job but we do not have the sufficient resources represented in the legislation by a member who would provide one billion additional dollars to seven hundred fifty million of which would be dedicated to programs at the department of energy's two hundred fifty million dollars which would be dedicated to water projects throughout the united states of america as a matter of my statement to the full economic infrastructure we made an investment in our society we made an investment in our future less than thirty cents out of every one dollar spent by the federal government is appropriated dollars and we  will restore funding for petroleum and natural gas deal thermal technology programs increase support for developing a full range of conservation technologies and help for the rise of an additional thirty thousand homes next year to provide immediate energy savings and we're also again provide two hundred fifty million dollars to accelerate the needed programs for flood control measures and also operation and maintenance i also provided to the wealthiest society in two thousand and one amendment is also paid for i do think we need to make an investment in this society my amendment propose a change existing constitutes legislation in appropriations bill and therefore violates clause two overall twenty one the rule states and pertinent part of an amendment to a general perpetrations bill shall not be in order i an i move to strike the last word gemma's recognize for five minutes mr chairman yesterday we spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on a few relatively tiny earmarks on the agriculture appropriations bill and spent almost no time discussing whether or not that bill was adequate  responding to the needs of rural america today we're going to be different debating the shape and nature of some of these individual programs but we are likely except for the and so i want to take just a moment to express my regret that the majority felt it necessary to strike the risk roski amendment on a point of order we have been drifting energy conservation research renewable energy fossil fuel research and energy conservation we are funding these efforts at levels that range from one quarter to one  in real dollar terms of what we were funding those same efforts when jimmy carter was president and as a result of that two decade or more drift we as a society today are serious if we were really serious about meeting the flood control needs of the country if we were really serious about meeting the energy conservation and energy development needs of this country we would be putting those items first we would be putting an extra billion dollars into those items rather than providing supersized tax cuts to people who make a million dollars or more a year the r house passed or weeks ago provided over forty billion dollars in additional tax cuts to people who make over a million dollars a year we want to simply take in one billion about forty billion dollars and hundred seven thousand dollars operation and maintenance two billion one hundred ninety five million four hundred seventy one thousand dollars regulatory program one hundred seventy three million dollars formerly utilize sites remedial action program one hundred thirty million dollars flood control and coastal emergencies thirty two million dollars general expenses one hundred forty two million one hundred thousand dollars office service systems secretary of the army civil works one million five hundred thousand dollars and ministry provision five thousand dollars for reception and representation general provisions corps of engineers swiveled section one o one none of the  six million dollars for the defense environmental cleanup at los alamos national laboratories while it's important to note that this amount is equal to the president's budget requests it is more than fifty thousand dollars less than the department of energy and the university of california signed a historic stepfamily clean up border this year scott reduces funding to only thirty percent of what is called for in this order not only must this cleanup be undertaken to protect the health of new mexicans but the order of constantin to legally enforceable document it is my understanding that you will face significant penalties for noncompliance to this agreement mr chair in one week the los alamos national laboratories will enter a new era when the new management team comes into place i feel we should take advantage of this positive momentum and keep moving in the right direction by showing that it i don't control what the funding level is and then they take money from another project and put it over there then they can't find that one all because of this provision we have tried to get the authorization to handle this matter they have and so what we have to do and i know your point of order but it's but it's not the proper thing to do then we're going to have to go and put it back in the bill do it for another year because we can't get the authorized to get into the country we move forward apparently they want to continue this and i have no other way of dealing with them to argue about it and then i have to stick it back until we get some responsible response from the cor chairman the corps has encountered some obstacles both in terms of funding and authority to complete construction on the permanent barrier at the same time funding for the ct operate the original demonstration barrier is limited to congress we leave the corps without any tools to protect the great lakes from asian carp and other invasive species this is what i would answer chairman to do every ending everything possible in conference to ensure that the core healthy resources it needs to maintain that was not debated in the subcommittee but was inserted prior to the full committee and taken by voice vote it relates to the restrictive language that does not allow the corps of engineers to upgrade its master plans and water control plans the s e is that this is involved in litigation that's been going on at least since nineteen ninety in the federal courts most recently the federal courts have ordered by virtue of a decree in the district of columbia circuit district court that the corps of engineers is to proceed with its new prosperities this relates to the water usage to major river carders that originate in the state of georgia and also of course supply water into alabama and florida we believe that we should not as a congress interfere with the actions between states that are in litigation the courts have actually spoken on the issue we think they should be allowed to proceed with the georgia georgia is one of the fastest growing states in this region and because of this growth we certainly need to make sure that we have this detrimental language that would be deferred detrimental to georgia out of this bill the manuals have not been updated for fifty years comments that's what say that the court would is not operating based on the current situation in the area but on outdated population outdated environmental information that was generated back in the fifty's it is most important for my people that we updated information and that's why it's important for mr deal's amendment to pass these old out of date manuals resulting greatly increased cost of growth as inefficient and unpredictable operations of the river system and will result in stable water supplies for the massive power outages for the households and the businesses throughout our state of georgia  mr speaker for the last fifteen years the states of georgia florida and alabama have been engaged in litigation and meditation on this issue and much progress has been made but by placing this provision in the bill congress is now inserting itself into a situation that is best left for the state and the local entities to resolve and therefore i respectfully ask my colleagues to support the deal amendment the army corps of engineers intervention and then you would have a situation where it would be some extremely harmful environmental damage done so i respectfully submit to the members of this body that we reject the deal amen equitable distribution of water resources but also to prevent flooding and preserve critical water infrastructure for the people of our region mr chairman the master control plan to have not been updated since the nineteen fifties in the fifty plus floodplain mt this is necessary due to the overwhelming growth not just in my state of georgia but also in alabama the population explosion in the southeast requires that the flood characteristics of the water as possible and dela their decisions into what are in court today now that the court proceedings are still going on their own appeal and they're not only going to affect our three states they're going to affect everybody because as mr boyd said this house back people that don't know what the right decision to be made it ought to be made and the courts to do labor to process and not by some bureaucrat or not back congressman or women us who have conservatives and pollsters on both sides of the aisle think the constitution means something and the separation of powers means something and the courts sort of spanish their process for the executive branch the con man and take a side in this dispute is disrespectful to the balance of power in the constitution there is a dispute that's going on that may have merit on both sides but let the litigation play itself out if this can happen and this and since there is no possible on my good friend mr davis from alabama say that congress ought not to be intervening just this is a judicial matter because that's exactly what it is and it's exactly what congress is proposing to do right now and it's very inappropriate the question of whether or not the core should conduct this study was submitted to the court the court ruled against alabama alabama and florida don't lie that decision all three parties had their day in court on whether or not the co with the study now alabama and florida are running to congress to try and get congress to intervene in a way that frankly mr baucus and mr davis both cite would be very inappropriate it's inappropriate for congress to intervene in a court proceeding where the court has specifically approved something and the court has approved the corps moving forward with that study for congress not to approve the deal amendment it's for congress to intervene in appropriately in an ongoing court water resources that each state has but we feel the language in the bill as necessary it is written to advance the corps of engineers from interfering in litigation which is meant to allocate those great harm to the state of alabama we will have real concerns over an adequate water for drinking power generation navigation and recreation and while lot for this reason it is essential that all three states come to a mutual equitable water sharing agreement we do not believe it is appropriate for the corps of engineers to unilaterally step in and and to create a water distribution without the approval of all three st minutes remaining gentleman from alabama star everett has two minutes remaining on the gentleman from florida mr boyd has two and one half minutes remaining gentleman from georgia mr chairman it is time i would yield one minute to my those in other states as well is fairness what we want is the opportunity to settle this dispute we're in court the court knows that we've been in court the court comes in with a last minute attempt to revise their manual asking for money to do that at the same time that the court is taking this very issue up that's not the way to do it right now the president's budget did not include money for this the chairman of the writing members saw it in fairness to both sides to keep this language  here so what we're asking today is defeat the bill the deal amendment and support the base bill itself if current conditions are used by the court this amendment were to be allowed allowed and current conditions are used  this manual and that's being done at a time that would be a great disadvantage to the parties involved here so this issue is very critical to alabama and florida we must defeat of the deal amendment you  minutes remaining john from your you mr chairman that also includes the right to conclude is that correct that's correct mr chairman at this time i would you know one minute to my colleague from georgia you know which gentleman is recognized for one minute simply doing what the federal courts have told them someone says this is in court now no this is not in court now it is very clear the cold war will have to compete complete snaper process and it was ordered to do so by the u s district court of the district columbia later january the sixth two thousand and six and it says do it quickly as possible the problem is we haven't been able to work this out with three states the second part of the problem thank you mr chairman mr chairman there there are some agreements here one is that this is a long standing discussion and battle and i put in the ongoing litigation in the court and it's a battle tween some states beyond that there's not a whole lot of agreement but everybody says that we ought to let the courts decide but those who are opposed to this amendment begin the doubletalk at that point if this amendment fails the corps of engineers will not be able to follow the court order on january sixth of this year the d c court ordered the court to undertake the need for a process quote she refused to do so alabama itself says let the courts decide and we agree let the courts decide not an amendment which was so inserted into this bill without discussion by accepting the language in the energy and water my colleague from georgia mr kingston gentleman is recognized for one minute i think i think the gentleman and i just want to say that the corps of engineers has had water control plans in place for fifty years and the plans are guidelines so that everybody can kind of have some input and some feedback on what's working and what isn't this is an area this is the one of the fastest growing parts of the united states of america and this needs to be done on a congressional level then let's do so with all the state delegations together let's don't have to state against one state let's all sit down and  out a legislative solution if a legislation a legislative solution is necessary i don't think that it is right now i think the best thing for us to do is to let the corps of engineers continue to work the process as it has been set up and a strange position today because normally we speak with a similar accent when we talk with our fellow brothers and sisters from the great state of georgia but like my other friends from alabama and florida who have already spoken are to rise today in opposition to the gentleman from georgia as a member and as the poor of the underlying bill at the outset i want to first of all join my other friends and thanking chairman hobson and the ranking member as well for including this report language and jim water appropriations bill let the record note that the chairman took this action after members from both the alabama and florida delegations made them aware of the fact there's new barriers to our friends from georgia are trying to get the army corps of engineers to update this master manual which on the surface sounds like a very reasonable request it probably does need to be updated except for the fact that it would come at a time where it would be detrimental to the people of alabama and to the people of florida and it would occur at the very time that this decades long dispute is being litigated in the federal court mr chairman if the army corps of engineers goes forward with their plans to update this manual before the court makes the final decision then in essence the core is picking the winner even before the court has had a chance to make a determination that would mean the same thing as a judge finding someone either innocent or guilty before all of the facts have been presented the process can and should work but it can't work if one federal agency is going to choose sides and choose a winner over another vote no  of engineers in the northern district of alabama certainly a favorable venue and has proven to be favorable for them over the years later and a later point in time about thirteen years later or so it was instituted the district of columbia court it is that court that is now resolve some of the issues and that court has issued on or even though florida and alabama attempted to intervene to prevent that court order from going into effect on january the twentieth of two issue and yes i compliment my friend from alabama for outnumbering us all of the appropriations committee and being able to put this in the bill but i urge you to support the development time of the gentleman has expired the question now arises on the question of the amen eighteen further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia will be  has been a total disaster and i'm from a district that concerns myself about new orleans but we keep talking only about katrina and we keep talking about only  all and i'm not saying we shouldn't i'm here today to say that with these natural disasters that we've had and the help that you in the congress have given us it is tremendously appreciate however immediately following those storms coming to congress and asking for help and in recent weeks bringing a man much asking for additional monies to build  and to we haven't even gotten to the coastal restoration issue we were told that maybe we need to have the authorization for we were told that put it in the regular appropriations bill we're here and it didn't get into the regular appropriations bill so i guess these projects i am cameron the food terrible on st charles and other parishes inclusive of plaquemines parish which it was spelt should be excluded because there wasn't enough people to justify the cost a per a place on the gulf of mexico that services the offshore oil industry brings eighty percent of the offshore oil through pipelines through that parish and provides another important aspect to its presence there it is the because after asking for i think the number which four hundred thirty million about a week later and seven several of my friends say that's a lot of money and then a week later mr powell came and asked for an excess of four billion dollars and then readjusted it down when they took plaquemines parish shop there are lots of projects throughout south louisiana that are necessary if we're going to protect the residents of that state there are many projects in the southwest part of louisiana where rita has gone done for you all and but please remember that the rest of the gulf coast has been tremendously affected and these people they are going gas industry and operation and produce the seafood for this country as well as run the ports and export the goods and commodities from this nation needs additional help as responsibly thank you so much for the time worth of taxpayers dollars last year and here we're seeing a fifty percent increase in the taxpayer's contribution to something that should be paid for by the private sector this is now one of the wealthiest most successful most profitable industries in the united states the domestic nuclear energy industry if there's any industry apart from the oil and gas industry that has no business being out there on the floor are asking for handouts from the taxpayer at this pint then you have to put the nuclear industry at the top of the list what's the essence of this global private sector companies will be building nuclear power plants in those countries and returning the nuclear waste we would be in a lot of states for reprocessing in our country so on the one hand you know th the congress will say well we don't want any more immigrants from any of these countries but send us your nuclear waste if an american company has been able to build nuclear power plants there and make a profit from it well then even gentlemen it should not be the business of the house of the people who represent hard working taxpayers over all this money over to the very wealthy industries they're doing quite well thank you once again an example of an industry now fifty years old this industry is like someone who's fifty years old still living at home with mom and dad and expecting mom and dad to continue to subsidize them to give energy that is partly produced by nuclear energy have been paying a tax in order that the federal government would build a repository and finally take control of this if you want the byproduct the waste products of nuclear waste be handled by private companies and have them in control of it then i think you're asking for big problems but for years i've been asking the federal government to give us a little part of energy to give us a vision of what their future is what they see as the future of energy development in this country and how we're going to supply the baseload needs in this country is the first comprehensive forward looking plan for nuclear energy development that i've seen come out of this or any administration in decades if you take into consideration the entire fuel cycle from the mining it will use much of the energy in the fuel rods that is left behind now and that promises to make yucca mountain the only repository our nation will need for the final decision this position of spent nuclear fuel  you believe that nuclear that global warming is a problem if you believe that we can afford to shut down nuclear power plants today that contribute over twenty percent of our electricity i split i suspect much of it in massachusetts just a gentleman's state if you believe that we can strike that down and that it's and that it makes sense to provide our baseload with an emission free type of energy such as nuclear power and if you we don't then we better start looking and debating on this floor where we're going to put you after two or three or four or five because that's what's going to happen the simple fact is most americans now support nuclear energy most americans know that we can't meet our growing energy needs without it i urge you to defeat this amendment i'm a gentleman has expired gentleman from massachusetts minute germans recognize for one minute the problem with this program is that the department of energy is only  guessing about how much it's ultimately going to cost there ranges from three billion to six billion dollars just for a demonstration project because it doesn't know the answers to the ultimate questions about cost of all feasibility about the nuclear proliferation consequences does nobody any of these questions but again the nuclear industry wants to get back out on the road and start selling nuclear power plants around the globe they should do it adam smith is spinning in his grave so fast listening to this debate that he would qualify subsidy under this bill is a new electrical generating source that's how bad this is this is a total violation of free market principles there are no answers at all that you're providing except you wan this process and we are going to have the energy to to continue to our grandchildren for our children to live in this country but we also have to to look at the industry has created here domestically but yet they're coming in here saying well we need another solution to the same problem we also need the taxpayers to subsidize ultimately three billion six billion that's just a demonstration project ultimately twenty thirty forty fifty billion dollars for reprocessing technology to pay for by the taxpayer solutions to the same problem even though yucca mountain is supposed to solve the problem why is that because what this program does what president bush wants to do is offer cradle to grave services for countries around the world american companies will build nuclear power plants around the world and then they will ship the nuclear waste to the united states and by the way this waste when it is reprocess is the worst of all materials because it can be used for nuclear but it's not too dangerous what terrorists handle as a dirty bomb at the same time  subcommittee are committed to pursuing yucca not enough if we are to have a nuclear industry and to have an investment in our energy future we also have to examine options to reduce waste th country after three mile island we need energy independence the committee didn't have enough money so we appropriated one hundred fifty million dollars that subcommittee level at the full committee level we accepted an amendment to reduce it to one hundred twenty million dollars and now they are wanting to try to further from understanding marilee sensitive country that in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you have to use nuclear seventy percent of their electricity is generated from nuclear power in france they don't get it in massachusetts apparently the gentleman from massachusetts has nuclear in every capacity every time it's come to the floor the entire twelve years that i've been here that's what this is really about and it is amendment it would lead spent nuclear fuel at reactor sites in massachusetts and places it pilgrim one yankee wrote research directors university of massachusetts in worst or polytechnic institute defeat the marquis amendment from connecticut to my minister it would restore funding to the state energy program which the underlying bill imminent and it would happen by reducing the administration funding for the department of energy to last year's levels that means  department administrative funds would amount to about two hundred seventy eight million dollars the administration thought this program worthy enough to propose an increase to forty nine point five million dollars from approximately thirty five million last year sanjay what i'm saying is that this amendment would simply fund this program at twenty five million dollars the state energy program it rip provides grants to states and direct funding to state energy offices the states use these grants to address their energy priorities program funding to adopt emerging renewable energy an energy efficient technology states have implemented countless initiatives funded by this program that have reduced energy costs and have saving taxpayers more than one hundred seventy two million dollars through energy efficiency projects new mexico the state energy office is supporting an expandable renewable energy usage tax incentives for hybrid vehicles school energy efficiency programs technical assistance to the wind industry expansion of geothermal resources with the funding new mexico i've been able to meet approximately forty energy performance goals with an annual energy savings of millions an expansion in the use of ethanol and biofuels my own state of connecticut the program supports thirty one minutes a paladin to help them make their schools and public buildings more energy efficient the value of this program speaks for itself it enables energy officers to design implement programs according to the needs of their economy the potential of their natural resources and the participation of the local industry for every dollar we spend on this public private partnership we take seven dollars and twenty three cents which almost eleven dollars of leverage in the state local and private funds that means by funding the program of twenty five million dollars this year we can help as much as one hundred eighty million dollars just in fiscal year two thousand g report did say he does not know if the program is working the i g report did say the states aren't sure what energy savings are coming from the state grants the i g report did say that the states have large on cost of balances and aren't  i'd report did say that given the broad goals of the program funds were being consistently however i would contend we ought to look at what the states can spend this money on and do state employees salaries travel administrative supplies in fact of the states examined by the i g sixty the consciousness of energy efficiency and conservation but frankly these services are now in demand by the public and their dollars are better suited for making the technologies available that are in demand rather than the feel good coordination activities of this program and i  to indicate that they were not spending the funds for their intended purpose if anyone wants to know i have a list of all of the states and the amount of money they receive in grants every year from this program and that they will get nothing  really is it authorizes fifty million dollars to help the oil companies to drill in deep water even though they reported one hundred thirteen billion dollars in profits it allows for drilling in the arctic flying the bill to put in one hundred million dollars for state energy plans for conservation at the state level one hundred million then in january the president sends up his budget fought a nine point five million out of the house floor the true agenda of the republican party once again reveals itself zero zero for conservation nothing meaning that the hundred million last august the american taxpayer knows that we have to learn how to work smarter not harder how to conserve how to use technologies that will reduce our consumption we only have three per cent  extraneous matter out here i mean this is outrageous first of all we want to save money you don't you don't go back to do these anybody say great no strike to get the million dollars out of the one point six and they turn it all over again and take it out of your bunch of salaries the group gets down here now advocating this thing on behalf of all the states is funded by the by this program this is just another pork barrel program for governors of the states we want to get from connecticut will be post powered this energy is cost effective and cleaner recently an associated press article stated that the federal government has a backlog of two hundred thirty two leaked applications to prospect for geothermal energy this a p article also states that the average age of an application to prospect your thermal sites is nine years recent supply projections from the american gas association show that natural gas suppliers will continue to federal investment and geothermal energy and to support the geothermal technology program now we do know that most of the geothermal power plants were built in the mid one nine hundred eighty s and early one nine hundred ninety s when energy markets were receptive to alternative energy energy investments since than there has been a significant decline in this investment the bush administration has repeatedly championed the need to expand our renewable energy resources and to develop our country still thermal energy resources the department of the interior and the department of energy have jointly stated that commitment to increase our energy security would be by expanding the use of indigenous resources on federal land excel reading protection of the environment a recent report from the department of energy found that california nevada new mexico oregon utah and washington state have the greatest potential for quick development of geothermal reef sources say in fact the study mr chairman listed nine topics states and sites in california and ten in nevada that's one work on improving our affordable energy options we must support the geothermal technology program it's also a job creation program it will ultimately mean about one hundred fifty or two hundred jobs in a community the minimal five million dollars that i'm asking for will be taken from the hydrogen technology program to be placed in the geothermal technology program and all of this can be attainable we must not turn our backs on this important source of environmentally friendly energy i ask my colleagues to support this amendment and to support geothermal technology and more importantly to support like the one ramzi yousef parked in the garage of the world trade center in one nine hundred ninety three such a bomb would level lower manhattan where would people find such highly enriched uranium over the last years apartment of energy in the military i've been looking at one hundred and six reactors throughout the world in those fifteen years they have dealt with some of them but there were sixty four of these reactors left that you finally enriched uranium at this point we will have converter those reactors left low enriched uranium which cannot make a bomb by the year two thousand and nineteen we need to speed that up the purpose of this amendment is to more than double the amount of money that is dedicated to the conversion of these reactors from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium last year the president provided about twenty four point seven million dollars amendment twenty seven million dollars for that purpose this year where do we find the money well this year's bill which is a great bill which i'm going to support adds about twenty seven million dollars to the administrative account of the department of energy so we take that twenty seven million dollar increase in administrative costs and we shift it toward this program of converting these potential nuclear bomb factories into low enrich uranium this does not cut the administrative expenses of the department of energy it simply gives the department about the same amount that it has actually tiny bit more than the amount that it has in the present fiscal year we need to prevent a nuclear nine eleven will be able to convert about twenty it is many of these reactors from highly enriched uranium to lull enriched uranium if we adopt the amendment at this time i reserve the balance of my time many with advanced economies being more vulnerable than less to bounce ones to terrorist attacks significantly what distinguishes this generation of citizens of the world from all others is that we're the first generation able states and potentially terrorist organizations in the most profound observation of the last century einstein noted that splitting the atom had changed everything except our way of thinking i this context i think there is there's never been a more important time to give threat reduction assistance and arms control a chance the goals of this global threat reduction initiative include securing mander removing highly enriched uranium and other radiological materials further it's our hope that this funding approach will give impetus to the effort to increase the number of h e u reactors being converted to oil rich uranium what is needed  sixty thousand dollars delta regional authorities salaries and expenses five million one hundred forty thousand dollars denali commission seventy million five hundred thirty six thousand dollars collected from our nation's electricity they were supposed for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a repository eight billion of that twenty six billion has already been spent leaving a balance of eighteen billion in the nuclear waste on the department of energy has not yet proposed to of the global nuclear energy partnership i do believe that they have the authority over the nuclear waste policy act subject to appropriations i strongly disagree with that interpretation consumers of paper nuclear waste to be disposed of would simply be hit with the department of energy from loading the nuclear waste on for the global nuclear energy partnership a program that is overly broad premature and poorly defined this money should be reserved for its designated purpose if he wants to encourage the development of nuclear energy and in stand the focus here at home standing at yucca mountain open so new nuclear plants can be built in our own country i would urge my colleagues to support this amendments my understanding that mr dingell supports the amendment it's also administration's energy policy team his name is yucca mountain he is the star of the energy department yucca mountain youth loan website devoted to brainwashing school children into ory to our nation's children under the guise of education is a mistake what is next i ask my colleagues will the department of health and human services recruit joe camel to teach energy from maintaining a website whose purpose is the indoctrinate of our children by the nuclear industry the department of energy and their proponents i urge my colleagues also it's obviously people going to have different opinions about projects generally from the nevada certainly has the right to have a difference of opinion about whether there should be a yucca mountain repository and i respect your opinion diagrams and some information on it it's a very simple nature but to my knowledge nobody is questioning the truth of what's on the website so to say that we're just not going to allow the department of energy to have an educational website for our for the children  is common sense now quite candidly i don't know what the schools are like in your state but in the state of nevada that's not term paper material this is just part of this character was created with  would anything there but i assume that we will probably have to do some things certainly with the naval reactors stuff but i think education is one of the most important things we can do and i think one of the things we have to work on is maybe we need to look at this this is not a good expenditure of our taxpayer dollars at least simply using our children as propaganda tools this is not communist russia the last time i looked this is the united states of america and if you will let me read designed this website i might be a and gas companies to explore it's now seventy dollars a barrel the president has to take out the money it's ultimately five hundred million dollar a year project the only deep drilling that's going on here is in the pockets of american taxpayers by or oil companies which have reported a hundred national laboratories were participating in this is to try to find the technology allow us to go into waters in the primarily in the gulf of mexico very deep waters develop the technology so that we can go in and drill in an environmentally safe fashion and recover what are estimated to be almost four trillion cubic feet of natural gas and almost a billion barrels of oil it's primarily a research program is authorized  fifteen million dollars for ten years or a total of five hundred million dollars this would this money would go to universities like the university of texas in texas i am in my great state massachusetts institute of technology  massachusetts increase or where there are national laboratories and the smaller independent oil and gas companies to develop technology to in an environmentally safe fashion develop these necessary resources for energy future members who are paying attention to what president bush said to us this year just a couple of months ago here's what he said he said in a two thousand and seven budget which also recommends repeat we recommend repealing provisions of the energy policy act for a new mandatory fifty million dollars per year or early r and d program funded with federal revenues from oil and gas leases which would be similar to the the floor we don't need this five hundred million dollar program for mom and pop companies don't go out into water the company's money going out there are exxon mobil chevron conoco marathon we don't have to subsidize these oil companies that are already tipping the american consumer the upside down in taking money out of their pockets at the pump every single day i reserve the balance of my time gamers are in the balance was time to move from ohio  alter the program is about american energy for the american people for the american young people young people have to fight a war if we don't have energy for them countries will fight for energy this country will fight for energy we don't have to because fifty te program technologies are the little independent oil and gas companies that don't have the funds for huge or and the programs not may go that seems to be a little known fact mr markey that they need a little independent of the companies that produce sixty eight percent of the minute at this time and omens recognize sanctuary you know like a rough terrain he had an intramural republican fight here and so i'm just trying to rough it so that you can understand what's going on the the president and the vice president have asked for this huge subsidy i think huge oil companies to be taken out he's kind of being a free marketeer here but the republican leadership here is saying no we want to give another half a billion dollars so companies that are now charging three dollars a gallon for gasoline made one hundred fourteen billion dollars last year and in the president's own words don't need this subsidy so it's free marketeers versus marathon oil kermit d and others and this is dick cheney and george bush saying take the money out but yet they continue to commit to these subsidies from the taxpayer even if the companies report huge profits and i'm a speaker it's interesting to listen to the discussion by the gentleman from from massachusetts describing some of the referee he was showing the american taxpayer held by their feet shaking the money out of their progress the pockets of the taxpayers fifteen million dollars was used previous to eighty by universities to to study cold bad methane gas just last year two thousand and five three hundred twenty seven million dollars beneficiaries are mit stamford dam state and a whole plethora of other research institutions this makes sense to lower the cost of energy to our american consumers one party is in favor of that the referee slams here trying so sorry that president bush can't be here on the house floor but on the separation of power he just can't be here i brought myself one minute mr timmons recognized i would just like to reference for the republicans on this side with the president has said on this issue i will tell you with fifty five dollars a barrel oil we don't need incentives to avoid and gas companies to explore that's president bush talking to the republicans in congress don't tell me that but i've already believe that but he's on my side of the break now so the point that we're making is quite clear that yes the money comes from the oil companies but the money comes from oil companies basically because they have to pay the public for the wages on public land so the public gets the money but then what this bill does is that it takes the money back out of the taxpayers pockets in the hands it back over to the oil companies who have already been in the other pocket o the consumer tipping them upside down and taking it out of three dollars a barrel so this is basically the bonus for one oil executive for a couple years i mean that's where they could get the money from if this was such a valuable project time a recognize gentleman from massachusetts in conclusion this amendment is nothing more no less than an attempt to be fair to the america tax payer they are calling at the pumps they feel like the pump is like stuck in expect up at the at the gas stations the pain too much that they are being ripped off and this just adds insult to injury by having the oil companies then come to congress and say now you do on the missouri river that here are controlled by the corps of engineers and a series of dams have started gavin's point dam and now southeastern south dakota move around up into montana it's been a struggle along this river for the last several years because there's been a drought upstream for the last seven eight number of environmental groups working in junction with the corps of engineers have come up with this grand experiment and it's this experiment that to the idea that the natural spawning of the pallet sturgeon would be could be enhanced if they created a manmade rather than emptying the dams out upstream and starting there with the reservoirs up there of water and flushing out the river and flooding our farmers and especially the south west nile and on down into missouri and we've also had those similar there is not crop insurance that will protect for a manmade flood and yet we have a government induced manmade flood is being created as a social experiment and that social experiment to me as a as an environmental experiment and that environmental experiment is just that an experiment across this country in his cooperation that that i've enjoyed and appreciated at the years that i served in this congress and i'm sensitive to the chairman's judgment on this issue because he has to look at the nation as a whole and i have to represent  district and that's his that's our issue that's here it's not not really even a philosophical disagreement i take the opportunity to present this species i happen to have probably the only one in washington d c a pallid sturgeon in captivity that actually is legal in my possession i want to pass the sound of the german for his observation at a convenient point if i could but i just would make a closing point that when we laugh when we let it ideas that are not sound science dictate the economy in this country especially when we have the billions of dollars and budget begin implementing new guidelines for including in their budget operation and maintenance dredging of commercial harbors unfortunately this new policy significantly limits dredging of harbors in rural communities including several communities are excluded from the province budget as a result a number of routine army corps harby harbor dredging projects across the country will not be carried out in fiscal year two thousand and six there were two hundred ninety three harbors and united states classified as low use these harbors were not included in the core budget even though they were even though they have been in previous years simply because of this unfair budget standard two hundred ninety three communities are impacted by the by th policy an example of how this policy affects communities in my district that are getting michigan residents were taken by surprise when last year for the first time in many years the harbor was not included in the president's budget not dredging this harbor w have significant effect on the future of our paper company smurfit stone container corporation which relies on the harbor for coal and limestone deliveries white pine power to revitalize coal plant that depends on the harbor for coal deliveries for power generation in an area that is under served with electricity will also be jeopardized in addition annual helps prevent flooding in on fog and preventing helping to prevent devastating private property loss and damage  this port does not meet the corps that new standard dredging plays an essential role in preserving economy electric generation and protecting this community two hundred ninety three communities in the united states have similar concerns this policy is not just detrimental to these rural communities in studying this policy the core also disregards the fact that approximately two thirds of all shipping in the united states either starts or finishes at small ports by ignoring the needs of these communities the corps is also significantly harming the nation's typical ten month shipping chases that's almost a half a tonne for every person in the united states of america and i truly thank you gentlemen for highlighting those inequities and certainly sure that we'll continue to work closely with the chairman to rectify this first let me start by thanking my colleague and friend from connecticut congresswoman de lauro for co sponsoring this amendment and for her leadership in the effort to protect the splendor of long island sound our amendment limits the use of any funds appropriate in this bill for use by the federal energy regulatory commission to review the pending application for the placement of a floating storage and regasification unit known as broadwater in the middle of long island sound an area that was designated by the environmental protection agency as an estuary of national significance to be clear the amendment does not block any other pending application before the fir relating to the placement of onshore and offshore liquefied natural gas projects around the country rather it's intended to protect the splendor of long island sound as we expand our energy independence like my colleagues on both sides of the aisle i believe it is in the best interest of our nation to develop new and innovative technologies expand refining capacity and increase the supply of natural gas however we must strike a responsible balance between expanding the supply of energy and protecting the environment long island sound has benefited from hundreds of millions of dollars invested by the federal government states of new york and connecticut as well as local towns and municipalities fighting to curb hypoxia brown tide and other destructive pollutants which decimated our fishing and shellfishing industries and set back the regional economies in long island sound generates five billion dollars annual for the regional economy from commercial and pleasure boating commercial and sport fishing and other forms of tourism it should be easy to understand why it is imperative to preserve this flourishing economy and the splendor of its environment for the benefit of over ten million people who live within the long island sound watershed alone placing a floating terminal in this location threatens to jeopardize its precious ecosystem the regional economy and the delicate balance between environmental preservation and energy independence that we worked so hard to achieve mr chairman my amendment is not intended to weaken the case for expanding our supply of natural gas my amendment is about making sure that we don't lose sight of our environmental goals or allow preservation and conservation to take a back seat in the rush to formulate a more effective and less expensive energy policy i ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment and work with me to make sure that we satisfy our energy needs while preserving the integrity of our natural resources let me close by thanking chairman hobson for his continued support for brookhaven national laboratory which is in my district thanks to his continued support and leadership along with the ranking member for scientific research funded in this bill will go a long way to advance our nation's technology edge and competitiveness i reserve the balance to twenty five percent of the entire needs of the northeastern united states in terms of their natural gas usage to adopt this amendment right now simply so that part of the country we don't want any more  to my friend from texas characterizes the long island sound as a remote area that's incorrect there are approximately ten million people who live within a fifty mile radius of the long island sound i don't think that would fall within any reasonable description of a remote area and secondly the energy policy act which my friend from texas strips local government of the right to have a say in whether or not we fight facilities of this type with remote area eleven miles off the coast of connecticut nine miles off the coast of new york the l n g broadwater facility it's actually the proposal that's vessels in the long island also a twenty five mile pipeline through the middle of what is prime ground for lobstering and for fishing further the entrance to the sound might need to be temporarily closed when the  is pending before the commission this amendment the natural gas act for order review and decision making process for energy infrastructure and limits energy development efforts for the amendment restricts the ability of any company a fairly novel technological approach to siting l n g away from populated areas that i understand that i understand that nine miles to do is not very far and eleven miles is not far do you consideration of the bill h r fifty four twenty nine to direct the secretary of interior stablished in implementing competitive oil and gas leasing programs that will result in an environmentally sound program for the exploration fifty four forty one making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september thirtieth two thousand and seven and for other purposes it's referred to the house calendar in order dollars a barrel among the chief factors that have been cited and the cause of the recent spike has been increased worldwide consumption and demand as countries such as china and india have experienced significant economic growth china alone over the past four years is responsible for forty percent of new demand around the globe however it is the united states that remains the world's leading oral consumer consuming over twenty million barrels a day while producing only about seven million barrels a day notably oil consumption coupled with the weekend reserve position means that the united states for the most part will continue to rely on world oil not only push polls and substantial risk to our economic security but may also have to compromise the effectiveness of american foreign policy as high domestic demand leaves the united states susceptible to the threat of possibility of retaliatory dorie action stemming from his opposition to u s policy it's clear that our overall economy is severely impacted by the spikes in crude oil and the price of gasoline the growing event that any of these countries discontinued their supply of oil to the united states mr chairman i realize that you're going to only do so much in any one bill and i just believe that all departments should do the department of energy purchased seven hundred twenty four cars last year of which nine hundred twenty seven were gasoline powered meeting that forty seven percent were alternative nowhere near seventy five percent and again i'll submit most of this for the record about my amendment would mandate that they essentially follow congressional law and get the purchase of vehicles up to seventy five percent of alternative fuel vehicles and i i yield back the balance