WASHINGTON – Senator Frank H. Murkowski (R-AK), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today participated in the first meeting of the Energy Bill Conference. He released the following statement. “Energy is critical to ensure our security. Our national security rests on our ability to remain independent, unmoved by changes in foreign energy supplies and foreign governments. Economic security and job growth hinges on a reliable, affordable energy supply. And ensuring the security of our homes, our families, and our communities means knowing the porch light will come on, the fire trucks will run, and the hospitals stay open. “Now, more than ever, there is so much more riding on the success of this conference. We have the ability to eliminate the holes in our current energy strategy that leave us threatened and vulnerable. And we have the responsibility of shaping strategies that will ensure our security and protect America from an uncertain world. “There are many contentious issues in these bills: CAFE, renewable portfolio, climate change, ANWR, pipeline safety, efficiencies, and other issues. It would be a travesty if we took the position, as some have, that the Senate is going to oppose any provision that is not contained in the Senate bill. We all must be open to negotiation because that is the role we play – to craft legislation drawing elements from both bills. “Some have inaccurately stated that the Senate ‘rejected the safe exploration of exploration in the Arctic Coast of Alaska’. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Senate never had the opportunity to vote on this provision. Because some used procedural measures to thwart what I believe is the will of the majority of our members. Had this been a straight, up and down vote decided on the merits, instead of a 60 vote political trap, the outcome would have been very different from the outset. If members do not believe we have the votes to pass this measure then why will they not allow a vote to occur?” ###