American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2009)

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Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I thank the gentleman from California, and I thank him and his staff for the outstanding leadership and vision which he has provided on this legislation. This is the culmination of a career of work for the gentleman from California, and it is my honor to have been allowed to partner with him in order to construct this legislation that we bring to the floor here today.

I want to thank, as the gentleman from California has noted, the other Members who have worked on this legislation: Mr. Dingell, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Inslee, Mr. GREEN, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Rush. So many Members, including Members off the committee like HENRY CUELLAR from the State of Texas who worked with us on natural gas-related issues. We would not be here unless we had the cooperation of so many Members across the full spectrum of the House.

During this process, we have received valuable input and expertise from other leaders in the House, like Chairman Rangel on trade issues, Chairman Peterson on agriculture issues, amongst, again, many others.

The legislation we have before us today is the most important energy and environment legislation to ever have been considered in the history of the United States. The consequences for our country are great unless we act to deal with these issues.

This legislation sets a new course for our country, creating millions of new, clean-energy jobs while reducing our dependence upon imported oil. And when it becomes law, and it will, for the first time in the history of the United States Congress, for the first time in the history of our country, we will put enforceable limits on global warming pollution.

At its core, however, this is a jobs bill. It will create millions of new, clean-energy jobs in whole new industries with incentives to drive competition in the energy marketplace. It sets ambitious and achievable standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass so that by 2020, 20 percent of America's energy will be clean.

It saves consumers money by updating efficiency standards for new buildings, appliances, and lighting systems. It invests $10 billion a year in energy efficiency programs in States across this country.

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Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. And it starts the much-needed process of making our electric grid a smart grid so we can plug in the hybrid and electric cars of the future into an advanced, efficient energy network that by the year 2030 we will be raising a generation of children who know not how to receive gasoline at a gasoline station but, rather, by plugging their cars into a plug so that the electricity that we are generating ensures that those vehicles are being run for the benefit of our people.

This is a revolution. This is a moment in history. This is what the American people were calling for in the election of 2008, a fundamental change that breaks our dependence upon imported oil, creates millions of new jobs, reduces the amount of pollution that we send up into the atmosphere, and points us in a new direction in our country that breaks with the pattern of cyclical dependence on imported oil coming from OPEC that holds our Nation hostage.

I urge an ``aye'' vote on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act.

I want to start by thanking the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and my partner in this legislation, Henry Waxman. He and I and our staffs have worked tirelessly on this bill, and his leadership, patience and fortitude have been remarkable.

And I want to thank all of my Energy and Commerce colleagues, especially Rick Boucher, John Dingell, Mike Doyle, Jay Inslee, Gene Green, GK Butterfield, Bart Stupak and so many others. And special thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her outstanding leadership on these issues since she became Speaker.

And during this process we have received valuable input and expertise from other leaders in the House like Chairman Rangel on trade issues and Mr. Peterson on agriculture issues.

The legislation we have before us today is the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country. It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy.

It will create millions of new clean energy jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

And when it becomes law, it will, for the first time in the history of the United States Congress, put enforceable limits on global warming pollution.

I also want to take time to commend my colleague John McHugh for his outstanding leadership on acid rain and air pollution control.

His state and my state both share a common problem of transported air pollution which falls in New York and New England as acid rain.

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