Energy Bill Forgets Coal (Rep. Joe Barton)

We had six committee prints during the markup. Why? Because it makes it much more difficult to amend them to put real energy into the bill. We’ve never done that before, at least in the last 21 years. Most of these committee prints wouldn’t even be a section in a real energy bill. Most of them would be technical corrections or paragraphs.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with a committee print to enhance the energy information data collection but is that a real energy bill? What’s our most abundant natural resource? C-O-A-L. Coal. We have a 300-year supply. It’s the cheapest energy resource. Is there anything in these packages? Not a thing.

Editor’s Note: Rep. Barton is the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.