Jeff Bingaman

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, let me sum up my argument in favor of the first amendment we are going to be voting on in this sequence of three amendments; that is, amendment No. 1693 that I have cosponsored with Senator Boxer. The amendment does address a number of important environmental issues associated with renewable fuels. It is an amendment that contains four sections. The first makes an authorization for grants to encourage production of advanced biofuels with the most favorable greenhouse gas characteristics. Second, we have a study by the EPA of potential issues that may arise as a result of increases in the renewable fuels standards. That study will result in two reports to Congress, both in 2010 and 2015. The third part allows the EPA to consider groundwater impacts when regulating fuel additives under the Clean Air Act, which is a good provision. The final part is a provision commonly known as an anti-backsliding provision, basically allowing EPA to address air quality issues that might arise as a result of the increased volumes of renewable fuel mandated in this Energy bill. Mr. President, let me at this time conclude my remarks and ask the Senator from California if she wishes to make any concluding remarks.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from California.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add to amendment No. 1693 Senators Dodd, Cardin, and Sanders as cosponsors, to the amendment we are about to vote on.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I believe Senator Gregg would be a cosponsor to amendment No. 1666?

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, at this point I ask for the yeas and nays on amendment No. 1693.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote and move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there be up to 2 hours 10 minutes for debate prior to a vote in relation to the Kyl second-degree amendment to the Baucus amendment No. 1704, and the cloture vote on the Baucus amendment; with the time divided as follows: 60 minutes to be used during today's session, and 70 minutes available for debate when the Senate resumes consideration of H.R. 6 on Thursday, June 21; with all time equally divided and controlled between Senators Baucus and Kyl or their designees; with the Republican time being controlled 15 minutes by Senator Kyl and 20 minutes by Senator Domenici; that no other amendment be in order prior to disposition of the Kyl amendment; with 30 minutes of the time on Thursday available for debate with respect to the motion to invoke cloture on the Baucus amendment No. 1704; and then, upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the Kyl amendment; that upon disposition of the Kyl amendment, the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Baucus amendment No. 1704.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The hearing will examine the growing aviation industry practice of outsourcing maintenance, repair, and overhaul MRO work. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection it is so ordered. committee on foreign relations

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. to hold a nomination hearing. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection[ it is so ordered. committee on foreign relations

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask, unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a nomination hearing. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on health, education, labor and pensions

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in SD-628. We will be considering the following: Agenda 1. The Higher Education Access Reconciliation Act (not yet introduced) 2. Amendments to the Higher Education Access Reconciliation Act 3. The following nominations: Jerome F. Kever, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Railroad Retirement Board; Michael Schwartz, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Railroad Retirement Board; Virgil M. Speakman Jr., of Ohio, to be a Member of the Railroad Retirement Board; Marylyn Andrea Howe, of Massachusetts, to be a Member of the National Council on Disability; Lonnie C. Moore, of Kansas, to be a Member of the National Council on Disability; and Kerri Layne Briggs, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing entitled ``Rising Violent Crime in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina'' on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226. Witness list Panel I: The Honorable Mary L. Landrieu, United States Senator [D-LA] and The Honorable David Vitter, United States Senator [R-LA]. Panel II: The Honorable James B. Letten, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA; The Honorable David L. Bell, Chief Judge, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, New Orleans, LA; Anthony Cannatella, Deputy Chief, Operations Bureau, New Orleans Police Department, New Orleans, LA; and Robert A. Stellingworth, President & CEO, New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, New Orleans, LA.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will be on ``Judicial Nominations.'' Witness list Panel I: The Honorable James M. Inhofe, United States Senator [R-OK]; The Honorable Elizabeth Dole, United States Senator [R-NC]; and The Honorable Richard Burr, United States Senator [R-NC]. Panel II: William Lindsay Osteen, Jr. to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina; Martin Karl Reidinger to be United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina; Timothy D. DeGiusti to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma; and Janis Lynn Sammartino to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing in relation to S. 1285, the ``Fair Elections Now Act.'' Topics covered will be: reforming the finance of Senate elections and the high cost of broadcasting campaign advertisements.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 20, 2007, at 2 p.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Reauthorization of the Hope VI Program.''

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building for a hearing entitled, ``EPA's Response to 9-11 and Lessons Learned for Future Emergency Preparedness.''

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following fellows, interns, and detailees of the staff of the Finance Committee be allowed on the Senate floor for the duration of debate on the Energy bill: Mary Baker, Tom Louthan, Sara Shepherd, Amy Branger, Jennifer Donohue, Lindsay Erickson, David Lee, Alex Mazuro, Jennifer Smith, and Erik Willborg.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the following individuals who are interns in my office be given floor privileges during the pendency of H.R. 6: Samantha Currier, Allison Freedman, Gregory Gonzales, Kori Higgins, Blake Peterson, Sarah Pike, Heather Roach, Shannon Saltclah, Joshua Sanchez, and Claire Smith.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the minority side be given an additional 5 minutes, and would note that Senator Domenici and Senator Craig are here to use that time.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, how much time remains?

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I will take 5 minutes. I know Senator Tester is here and wishes to speak. I understand Senator Kerry and many others wish to speak also. The issue between the two amendments is what our focus should be, when we think about the future of coal, are we sure the best use of coal and the best future for coal is in the developing of transportation fuels? In my view, that is what the Bunning amendment concludes. The Tester amendment, to the contrary, takes a broader view of the future of coal. I believe we want to enable the development of many potential uses of coal that are both environmentally and economically sound. We should not be focused on commercializing in large-scale uses of coal that do not make good sense in the marketplace. First, let me say a couple of things about the Bunning amendment. There are currently no large-scale coal-to-liquid plants in the United States. The price tag of a typical plant is in the billions of dollars. The Bunning amendment purports to require that coal-derived fuels be 20 percent better than gasoline. But we have an apples-to-oranges comparison here because coal-to-liquids plants will produce primarily diesel fuel, not gasoline. The total greenhouse gas emissions from coal-derived diesels are likely to be greater by about 150 percent than the emissions from diesels that are powered from petroleum. The Bunning amendment is technologically limiting, and such uses of coal as conversion to chemicals, to plastics, and to fertilizer are not permitted to benefit from the Bunning amendment. Coal-to-liquids products mandated by the Bunning amendment have very large water requirements. Water requirements are estimated to be about 2 gallons for every gallon of coal-derived fuel produced. The Tester amendment, by contrast, is much more broad in the beneficial uses coal can be put to, whether to make fuels or fertilizers or plastics or chemicals. There are industrial plants in the United States that do use coal commercially as a feedstock for chemical products. I have a letter from the president of Dow Chemical which I ask unanimous consent to be printed in the Record at the end of my statement.

Mr. BINGAMAN. He states as follows in that letter: On behalf of Dow Chemical Company, I write to offer my strongest support for Senator Tester's ``Coal Innovation'' amendment. Simply put, it will allow companies to build gasification plants in the United States that run on coal, biomass and other feedstocks, while helping to increase fuel and feedstock diversity and demonstrate options for carbon capture and storage. This will result in gasification plants that are more efficient and help address climate change and contribute to energy security. Mr. President, I also have a letter that I want to have printed in the Record at the end of my remarks from various unions--the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, the Industrial Union, the United Mine Workers, various others.

Mr. BINGAMAN. They strongly endorse the Tester amendment. They previously were part of a coal-to-liquids coalition which issued an earlier letter which has now been rescinded which spoke in favor of the Bunning amendment and against the Tester amendment, and they say in their letter that they strongly support the Tester amendment. Clearly, I think the Tester amendment gives us the best chance of promoting the use of coal to meet our energy needs in the future, and I strongly support it and oppose the Bunning amendment. I hope my colleagues will do the same. I believe this is the right course for us to follow. Exhibit 1 The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, June 18, 2007. Hon. Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bingaman: On behalf of The Dow Chemical Company, I write to offer my strongest support for Senator Tester's ``Coal Innovation'' amendment to H.R. 6, the energy bill pending before the Senate. Simply put, it will allow companies to build gasification plants in the United States that run on coal, biomass and other feedstocks, while helping to increase fuel and feedstock diversity and demonstrate options for carbon capture and storage. This will result in gasification plants that are more efficient, help address climate change and contribute to energy security. Dow is excited by the prospect of this legislation being enacted. As you know, Dow is one of the world's largest chemical companies and is heavily reliant in the U.S. on natural gas and oil as raw materials for the products we manufacture. High and volatile prices for these inputs have caused the company's energy bill to swell three-fold since 2002, reaching $22 billion last year, and have forced us to look to other parts of the world for our growth. In an effort to address this problem, and to help sustain our operations here, we have expressed interest in utilizing industrial gasification technology and in leading a consortium in the U.S. to demonstrate it on a commercial scale. A company like Dow could be a major purchaser of the syngas and/or the naphtha that these plants produce. As you know, the military also has a high interest in taking syngas- based liquid fuels. Dow would be able to make virtually all of the products we currently make from natural gas liquids by substituting coal, biomass or a combination thereof. The ability to manufacture products like plastics, fibers and coatings would help to optimize the carbon footprint of a project, since a portion of the carbon would reside in finished goods that are not burned. However, one major hurdle for any would-be plant sponsor is the financing. The direct loans in the amendment would go a long way toward helping to get these types of plants built, and help provide, in the long run, a lower cost alternative to oil and natural gas. In addition, Dow believes that the environmental standards in the bill are achievable. The requirement that 75% of the carbon dioxide generated is captured will ensure that all companies prepare for long-term CO2 management. This will help drive action to make carbon capture and storage a reality sooner rather than later. Thank you for your and your staff's attention to this issue, which is critical to American manufacturing, the economy and our energy security. Please let us know if there is any way we can be of assistance on this matter. Sincerely, Andrew N. Liveris, Chairman and CEO.