Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004-Conference Report

INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004-CONFERENCE REPORT

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the energy bill conference report and urge its quick passage. I am deeply troubled by the misinformation being cast about by opponents of this bill on the Senate floor and in
the press. I would like to take just a moment and distinguish some of the fact from fiction.

First, opponents of the bill have been criticizing the energy bill's electricity provisions. They have made sensationalistic allegations about Enron and the August blackout, among others, and conclude that this bill does nothing to improve our Nation's electricity grid. If opponents of this bill were to take the time to read the bill they have been so fervently criticizing, they would have reached far different conclusions.

Opponents have been desperately trying to color a good piece of legislation with known bad guys. I don't know how many times I have heard Enron thrown around, but never have those folks mentioned that this bill includes significant market transparency, consumer protection, and improved enforcement provisions. The fact: this bill improves matters.

Second, critics have criticized this bill for shielding MTBE producers from product liability lawsuits. Many of those Senators represent States that have sued MTBE producers for contaminating groundwater. On one hand, I appreciate why they object to that provision. My State of Colorado too is searching for ways to meet funding shortfalls, and groundwater out West is always a premium. However, MTBE isn't in groundwater because someone put it there. MTBE is in groundwater because the underground storage tanks made to hold gasoline with MTBE leaked.

Another fact: Congress mandated MTBE's use, requiring the oxygenate be added to gasoline to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

My friends on the other side should focus on fairness, and not just the deep pockets their trial lawyer friends are after. Fairness is the special interest opponents of the bill are so adamant on vilifying.

Opponents of the energy bill conference report have made outlandish claims that this bill does nothing for renewable energy. Again, such statements beg the question; have they bothered to read the bill? The fact of the matter is that this bill includes significant financial incentives for wind, biomass, and solar energy, and has the full support of the Solar Energy Industries Association. Further, the bill requires that 7.5 percent of electricity purchased by the Federal Government come from renewable energy.

Opponents have criticized the Indian energy title of the bill as offensive to the environment. They claim that if Indians opt-in to the voluntary provisions, then those tribes can skirt NEPA. Without touching the prejudicial nature of that statement-the assumption that Indians would violate the environment-I seriously doubt that opponents know why NEPA might apply at all. Under current law, if a tribe wanted to build an energy production facility on their own land with their own money, NEPA would not apply. NEPA only applies on Federal land or when there is some Federal action. Although some critics may like to think otherwise, Indian land is treated as their own land. In the example above, there is no Federal action.

However, if the Nation's most disenfranchised and poverty stricken group seeks third-party funding to develop their own resources, then the Secretary of Interior must review the proposed project. This paternalistic Secretarial review, a historical construct in the law, is tantamount to Federal action triggering NEPA. Indians believe that their lands should be treated like other private land under the law.

Opponents of this bill are playing a cruel joke on Indians. On one hand, they argue that Indians should be free to exercise their right to self-determination. Yet, on the other hand they tell the poorest of the poor that they must do so without any third-party financing. It seems that opponents of this bill believe that, for Indians, self-determination may only be exercised through posing for tourist photos and making handcrafts.

The Indian Energy title in the bill under discussion provides Indians with a completely voluntary tool that could help them to develop their own resources. This title could be a significant empowerment vehicle providing much needed jobs and economic development.

Last, my friends on the other side have made several statements criticizing this bill's process. In part, I have to agree with them. Similar to the failed energy bill of the democratically controlled 107th Congress that never benefited from being drafted in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the current energy bill has reached the floor in an imperfect way.

However, the fact of the matter is that the energy bill of the 108th Congress is a far reaching piece of legislation that is good for the country, good for my State of Colorado, which still relies heavily on the agricultural industries, and good for workers. It is important to note that all manner of farm groups support this bill, including the American Farm Bureau, the American Corn Growers, the National Farmers Union, and the National Cattleman's Beef Association. Furthermore, this bill is supported by a host of labor organizations; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the United Mine Workers, and the United Transportation Union, to name just a few.

Mr. President, the comprehensive energy bill before the Senate is a critical piece of legislation for the country. Its writers had the unenviable task to ask the questions that most in the Nation are never required to consider-where does our energy come from, and how can we meet future demand? This bill provides important answers and plans for the future. I urge its passage.