mr. chairman , as a member of the appropriations committee , i rise in support of the fiscal year 2006 energy and water bill .  i want to thank chairman hobson and ranking member visclosky for their hard work in drafting this bill .  i also want to acknowledge both the majority and minority staff for their dedication .  i can appreciate the tough choices that both chairman hobson and ranking member visclosky had to make with the tight allocation for this bill .  i believe they have made choices with the best interests of improving u.s. water infrastructure and advancing energy programs in mind .  those decisions were not easy , but this bill is the best we can do under the budget constraints .  i urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of the fy 2006 energy and water appropriations act .  