Press Conference with Senator John Ensign (R-NV); Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA); Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND); Senator Jonh Sununu (R-NH) - Energy Legislation

Statement

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SEN. SUNUNU: Well, this is a wise investment, and I think you can really see -- you can see that in the vote, the overwhelming vote, 88 to 8 -- both sides of the aisle recognizing that this is good environmental policy because it reduces or dependence on energy imports; it makes investments in clean renewables; and encourages continuing investment in those new technologies.

But it's also good economic policy -- whether you're a state like New Hampshire that has a great sustainable forest industry, other parts of the country were better suited to solar technology or to wind technology -- we have the ability to make better use of these technologies today. And we saw that in a great, strong vote. Senator Cantwell and Senator Ensign deserve a lot of credit. We were here just a week ago to announce this legislation, and to have it passed overwhelmingly on the Senate floor, just a week later, is very impressive.

It did take a lot of work, but now we need to make sure that it stays in the legislation, and that it gets signed into law. There's no reason for a provision like this, support for renewables, not to be signed into law -- not just this year, but soon, in a matter of weeks, not a matter of months -- because of the consensus there; the support for the legislation; the recognition that it's really the right thing to do for the environment; it's the right thing to do for the economy.

So, I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that this gets done, and that no one tries to add something that would be a poison pill -- that would take down the legislation, that would cause a veto, or cause real divisiveness. We don't need that, because we've been able to work together, not just on the energy -- renewable energy tax credits, but also on the housing portion of the bill. We ought to be able to get it done very, very soon.

Senator Dorgan.

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