mr. hoeven: i'd ask the chair for two minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: thank you, madam president. if you think about it, it builds on the very foundation, the very concept of how our country works. the united states is the laboratory of democracy; right? the states are the laboratories of democracy. well, let's make them the laboratories of energy development in this country. why not? let's make them the laboratories of energy development in this country. whether it's wisconsin, michigan, north dakota, south dakota, you name it, different places have different strengths. so when it comes to producing energy, let's empower them to produce the types of energy that work best in their respective state. it's a concept, if you think about it, that is bipartisan, that is inclusive, that includes not only the federal government, it includes the federal government in a way where they're working with the states and building on the very strength of our country. i know my time is limited. i will be back today to talk about it some more. but i want to leave w

mr. hoeven: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: i'd like to take a few minutes to commend the good senator from minnesota on her remarks. i think she expressed what we feel very strongly in this body and i want to both express my agreement with her comments but also the importance of moving this legislation. i believe that there's very strong bipartisan support to move this legislation. i believe it's something that we can do this week. so again, i just want to express my appreciation for her words here today and believe that is exactly the kind of cooperative spirit that we need on the part of all 100 senators to -- to get this done. now is the time for action and i join with the good senator from minnesota in calling for that action. with that, madam president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be terminated.

mr. hoeven: i ask to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: this morning i talked on the floor about energy, about a need for a states-first, all-of-the-above energy plan that will produce not only more energy, in fact, get us to energy security within a very short period of time but that also will help with environmental stewardship, that will, in fact, help us deploy the technology that will not only produce more energy and do it in a dependable, cost-effective way but at the same time that same technology as we deploy it will help us produce that energy with better environmental stewardship. that's the right kind of plan for america and we have legislation that i've submitted along with my colleagues, both on the republican side of the yield and the democrat side of the aisle, to accomplish that plan, including a good friend of mine, the senator from west virginia, a democrat. i'm a republican. but yet we've been able to work together on legislation, legislation that will empower private investment, hundreds of billions in private in