Wake-Up Calls; Are We Listening?

Floor Speech

(Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, wake-up calls; are we listening? Yes, there are wake-up calls. Can we hear them?

This majority in the House has not heeded a wake-up call. They have ignored the investments that we need in the clean energy economy to grow jobs.

What are those wake-up calls? Well, there is, first, the hard-earned American energy consumer dollars, $400 billion plus, that go to unfriendly nations that will take those dollars and invest in fighting the American troops while they supply us fossil-based fuels. Then there is the oil spill in the gulf that reeked damage on our ecosystem and wrecked the regional economy. Then there was the sticker shock at the pump, at the gas pump, that is driving down the American economy. And no one is listening.

Now maybe we will pay attention to the sad announcement today. Last year, we dropped to number three in clean energy investment after China and Germany. When will we wake up?

I say today, as the President talks to us about energy security in our economy, that we need to reduce oil imports and innovate into a clean energy future. We need to heed that clarion call. It is a wake-up call that's necessary.

The America I know and love is number one. It should never be three on the list of clean energy investment.

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