"America needs leadership that debates priorities like energy policy in a transparent and bipartisan manner-not behind closed doors.

The energy bill that emerged from the Republican conference was crafted in the dark of the night, with not a single Democrat at the table. The final bill was cobbled together by special interests and a handful of Republican legislators. In fact, Vice President Cheney started the policy-making process by holding secret meetings with unnamed energy industry associates.

Congress should reject this compromise. We are only beginning to understand the details of the legislation, but it is clear that the bill provides billions of dollars in giveaways to special interests while doing little to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and failing to address global warming.

We need a policy that strengthens the energy and environmental security of all Americans. To get this type of balanced policy, we first need to get the oil industry out of the Oval Office."