News & Events

Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks very much for the warm welcome. I appreciate you treating a neighbor from Texas so kindly. I’m really proud to be here with the men and women of the Sandia National Laboratory. We just had a fascinating tour of the facility. It was a little quick, but I learned a lot, and I want to thank Tom Hunter for his hospitality and his enthusiasm for the projects that go on here, and his praise for the people who work here.

I thank you for coming, and it’s such an honor to be here. I know full well that the work you do here keeps our military strong, it keeps our nation competitive, and our country is really grateful for your dedication and for the fact that you lend your expertise into helping Americans.

It is such an honor to be in New Mexico, the home state of Pete Domenici, as well as Jeff Bingaman, to sign this bill. This bill will strengthen our economy and it will improve our environment, and it’s going to make this country more secure. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is going to help every American who drives to work, every family that pays a power bill, and every small business owner hoping to expand.

The bill is the result of years of effort. It is the result of good folks coming together, people who have made a commitment to deliver results for the American people. This bill launches an energy strategy for the 21st century, and I’ve really been looking forward to signing it.

I appreciate Pete Domenici’s leadership on this bill. You know, he’s the kind of fellow, when he makes up his mind to do something, it’s hard to stop him. And as Pete said, he’s worked on a lot of energy bills in the past; some of them were signed by presidents and some of them never made it to the desk. But he’s been dogged in his determination to get a bill done, and he found a really fine partner in Joe Barton.