mr. chairman , the sheer weight of logic plus our considerable mutual charm i think has some hope in that direction . 
mr. chairman , i rise today in favor of this amendment . 
please allow me to say two things before i proceed . 
first , i want to express my gratitude to the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton ) xz4000180 and to the gentleman from california ( mr. pombo ) xz4003220 and their committee staffs . 
believe me , a lot of work went into this in the midst of all of the other pressures of various other items that were before them . 
this means a great deal . 
in every one of these bills , particularly in this energy bill , people have things to which they are deeply committed , including my good friend , the gentleman from arizona ( mr. flake ) xz4001340 , with respect to both the philosophy involved and what the consequences might be from any given item . 
now , in the great scheme of things , this might not seem like a lot to a lot of people , but for those of us who understand what it is , if we can actually grow our own renewable energy with sugarcane in the form of biomass can actually provide by being converted to ethanol . 
that is why this is here . 
i am not certain , and the gentleman from hawaii ( mr. case ) xz4000690 will speak shortly about it too , as to whether there are larger , logistical issues involved or political issues . 
but i can tell my colleagues this : whatever arguments there are out there about whether sufficient time or funds are being committed to renewable energy , alternative energy , this is something that we can do . 
and this is something where we are getting support from the oil and gas companies in texas , in louisiana . 
hawaii and florida can join in , because we are growing sugarcane , sugarcane can become ethanol , ethanol can help reduce the dependency on oil and gas . 
and we can work with the oil and gas companies to see to it that we have blends that will allow us to reduce our dependency on foreign oil , on foreign sources . 
that is what this is about . 
we can grow our own energy in hawaii if we get the chance to do this . 
and the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton ) xz4000180 and the gentleman from california ( mr. pombo ) xz4003220 have recognized this . 
they are going to give us the chance , and if this works , i am in contact with people , for example , like at southern university in louisiana , just speaking with them tonight , with the idea that perhaps we can take the sugarcane industry , and instead of always having to be in the position of having to defend ourselves against wage slavery around the rest of the world , that we will be able to have good jobs , good income in the united states of america , and be growing our own energy . 
that is what this is about , and that is why i ask for the support of my colleagues on this . 
