Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2454, AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2009)

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I thank my good friend Congresswoman Matsui from Florida for yielding and say that it is absolutely appropriate that Congresswoman Doris Matsui leads off the debate today on behalf of the Rules Committee because she has been one of America's most outspoken advocates for a new, clean-energy economy.

Madam Speaker, the American people's election of President Obama was a call for a change in the direction of the country, especially our energy policy.

America's energy policy is outdated. We rely too much on foreign oil, which has serious economic and strategic risks. We have not invested in renewable energy or in cost-saving technologies as we should. Meanwhile, carbon pollution is changing our climate and destabilizing global markets. Unless carbon pollution is addressed, we face an uncertain future.

But thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and many of my colleagues and businesses and citizens all across America, we now have a golden opportunity to act and to modernize energy policy and to bolster science and research.

We are going to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and none too soon. It comes at a critical time for our Nation and right on the heels of the Economic Recovery Act. Together the Clean Energy Act and the recovery plan provide a new foundation for economic recovery, new jobs, and clean-energy manufacturing. We are going to drive the development of new, clean-energy jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced.

People are fed up with the wild swings in gas prices and tired of watching America's economy rise and fall along with the price of a barrel of oil. So we're going to commit ourselves to a new economic future.

The Clean Energy Act has special significance to my home State of Florida because alone in the continental United States, my State is surrounded on three sides by water. If we do not take action to address carbon pollution, it is possible that much of my State in future decades will no longer be habitable. We must act now.

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I thank my colleague.

Scientists tell us that if carbon pollution is not addressed, the seas could rise and the coasts could move inland. Florida has already seen increasing droughts and saltwater intrusion of our aquifers. What happens if we do not act? Property insurance rates are already out of sight. What if the scientists are right that warmer waters increase the intensity of hurricanes?

So for those that say that it's not time to build on a new energy economy or that environmental changes can be ignored, you are on the wrong side of history. We are going to make good on the promise to future generations of Americans and break our dependence on foreign oil and create the clean-energy jobs that will revitalize America's economy in the coming century.

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