Highway Technical Corrections Act of 2007

Floor Speech

HIGHWAY TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - April 16, 2008)

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, later today, President Bush will propose halting growth in U.S. greenhouse gases by the year 2025. In his speech at the White House, the President is expected to place significant emphasis on new technology.

I recently introduced legislation to address the challenge of how to deal with greenhouse gases. The bill is called the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Atmospheric Removal Act, or the GEAR Act.

Members of this body have discussed various proposals to regulate the output of greenhouse gases. Some advocate doing it through a cap-and-trade approach. Others have advocated a carbon tax. Such proposals are aimed at limiting future carbon output into the atmosphere. Many proposals have been introduced and debated using this approach of dealing with carbon output.

Overlooked in the debate are the greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere. The best science tells us that the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere are the gases that are causing the warming of our planet. To what extent, we are not certain.

So let's resolve to find a way to remove the excess greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere--remove them and then permanently sequester them.

To accomplish this goal, we are, as a nation, going to need to make a significant investment to develop new technology.

The approach my legislation takes to address this is through a series of financial prizes--prizes where we set the technological goals and also define the outcomes we demand.

The first researchers who meet each criteria will receive not only a financial prize but also international acclaim.

The prizes would be determined by a Federal commission under the Department of Energy. The commission would be composed of climate scientists, physicists, chemists, engineers, business managers, and economists.

The commission would be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The awards would go to those, both public and private, who would achieve milestones in developing and applying technology--technology that could significantly help to slow and even reverse the accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

The greenhouse gases would have to be permanently sequestered, and sequestered in a manner that would be without significant harmful effects.

This is how it would work. There would be four different levels of prizes.

The first level would go to either the private or public entity that could first demonstrate a design for successful technology that could remove and permanently sequester the greenhouse gases.

Second, there would be a prize for a lab scale demonstration project of the technology that accomplishes the same thing.

Third, there would be an award for demonstrating the technology to remove and permanently sequester greenhouse gases that is operational at a larger working model scale.

Finally, there would be an award for whoever can demonstrate the technology to remove and permanently sequester greenhouse gases on a commercially viable scale.

There you have it--four different levels of development: First, to design the technology; second, a lab scale demonstration of the technology; then for a larger working model; and then, finally, the proven use of the technology on a commercially viable scale.

Well, once the technology is developed, the United States would share intellectual property rights to that technology with whomever invented it.

This bill, as drafted, does not include a specific dollar amount for each prize. Instead, it authorizes such sums as may be necessary.

The commission will be directed to report to Congress 1 year after enactment into law. The commission will recommend the levels of funding that would be necessary to achieve the goals of this act.

I believe prizes can be a unique tool in creating the technological development we need. It only seems natural that if we get all the best scientific minds thinking about the same problem, and working on it, we significantly enhance our chances of solving it.

Historically, prizes have been used to spur all types of technological development to solve big problems.

In 1714, the British Government offered the first prize of this type, and they did it for a device capable of accurately measuring longitude. John Harrison, a clock maker, was awarded 20,000 pounds for designing an accurate and durable chronometer 59 years later. This transformed our ability to sail the seas.

In 1810, the first vacuum-sealed food was produced after 15 years of experimentation. It was driven, again, by a prize offered, this time, by Napoleon. Today, vacuum sealing is still used throughout the world.

In 1909, the first flight across the English Channel was spurred by a prize offered by a newspaper.

Charles Lindbergh was competing for a prize offered by a wealthy hotel owner when he flew the Spirit of St. Louis nonstop from New York to Paris in 1927. Well, that achievement spawned what is a $300 billion aviation industry today.

It is my hope and my goal that this legislation will foster the kind of solutions that we need to address the concerns about climate change.

What I am proposing is that we take a brand new look at climate change. With that new look, our solution will be based on removing excess greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere. We must think anew and we must act anew.

That line--``we must think anew and we must act anew''--is engraved on a scenic overlook along Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY. It is engraved on the pedestal that holds a large-size bust of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the one to have the vision for the Transcontinental Railroad.

It is now time for us as Americans to think anew and act anew about the issue of climate change and controlling greenhouse gases. Americans have always looked within ourselves for solutions. We have always had confidence in American ingenuity and American creativity to deal with the challenges of the future.

Yes, we want to protect our environment and, yes, we want a strong economy. The way to have both is by thinking anew and acting anew. It is time to use our untapped human potential and the American spirit to develop the technologies we need.

It is now time for the Senate and for Congress to find a solution to global climate change, not through limits but through imagination, innovation, and invention. I look forward to working with each and every Member of the Senate in achieving this goal.

With that, I yield the floor.

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