mr. chairman , i rise in opposition to the legislation .  mr. chairman , protecting our environment and promoting energy independence are two of the most important jobs i have as a member of congress .  unfortunately , the bill before us today represents a real missed opportunity to reduce our dependence on foreign oil , promote energy efficiency and conservation , and improve our air , land and water quality .  for decades , our country has lacked a national energy policy .  while i did not agree with the administration 's energy plan , i was grateful president bush put forward a comprehensive proposal .  the president 's energy plan was superior to the severely flawed bill before us today .  we had a chance to devise a forward-looking energy policy that would have increased fuel efficiency , made polluters ( including mtbe producers ) pay for harming our environment , and advanced a renewable portfolio standard .  instead what we have is quite a bad bill .  instead of creating a balanced energy policy that provides incentives to make renewable energy more affordable and widely available , we are making fiscally irresponsible and environmentally-reckless decisions for the benefit of a few profitable industries that do n't need this kind of help from taxpayers .  i fail to understand why the major thrust of the bill 's tax provisions involve further subsidizing the fossil fuel industry , rather than providing incentives for conservation and renewable sources of energy .  these are enormously profitable industries operating in a time of record energy prices .  clearly , these profits demonstrate the market has already provided the fossil fuel industries with sufficient incentive to increase production .  i strongly oppose a provision in the bill that allows for the permanent activation of the cross sound cable .  in doing so , the bill subverts the regulatory process and ignores sound environmental policy regarding the depth at which the cable should be buried .  in addition to its environmental shortsightedness , i also oppose provisions in this bill related to energy transmission .  for instance , the energy policy act allows the federal electric regulatory commission ( ferc ) to preempt state siting authorities when it is determined that a high-voltage power line is of `` national significance , '' and overrides state authorities when expanding or siting new liquefied natural gas ( lng ) terminals .  in our own long island sound just off connecticut , this is a very real possibility .  while energy security is a national issue , it seems to me the communities who will live with these siting decisions deserve a voice in the process .  finally , i strongly oppose opening the arctic national wildlife refuge to drilling .  we simply wo n't have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways .  in my judgment , it would be far better to develop prudent and lasting alternate fuel energies than to risk irreparable damage to the wilderness of one of north america 's most beautiful frontiers .  drilling in the arctic will not fix our energy problems -- with so little oil available up there it could n't possibly , as it will take a decade to get the oil down here .  that time would be far better spent developing clean , renewable energy sources that will provide infinite energy without imperiling our last remaining wilderness areas .  i look forward to the day when we will have an opportunity to vote for a fiscally-prudent , environmentally-responsible national energy policy .  today is not that day .  