AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2009)
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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker I rise today in support of this legislation, and urge its passage.
I also would like to thank Chairman WAXMAN for his hard work on this bill, it is of incredible importance and he has taken that responsibility to heart.
I also thank the chairman for including two of my amendments within the manager's amendment, provisions that are important to ensure quality clean energy jobs training programs are accessible to all communities and that state SEED funds can go directly to renewable energy producers ensuring we get the most for our clean energy investment.
Mr. Speaker, today we will be casting an historic vote, a vote of moral responsibility, a vote of economic prosperity, and a vote FOR our nation's future and our nation's leadership on the international stage.
We've heard the arguments against acting, we've heard the nay sayers and those who would rather fear something they don't understand then roll up our sleeves and work to solve a monumental challenge.
To my younger colleagues and the millions of young men and women in this country who are embarking on their adult lives, who are starting young families and are looking to a brighter future I say ..... This is our generation's space race, this is our generations cold war, this is our generation's greatest challenge and it is past time that we accept that challenge to do better rather than shy away in the face of the unknown.
I'd just like to reiterate the scale of this issue, and say that I find it truly troubling that when we are faced with overwhelming credible and independent scientific evidence, and we can see the effects of a changing climate in our daily lives, the delusion it takes to drum up facts and figures paid for by oil companies and promote those as if they were science is truly reaching a new low.
This bill is not a tax. This bill isn't even a preverbal tax, and to paint something as a tax simply because you don't understand it is irresponsible.
We simply can't afford to do nothing.
Opponents of action would continue the status quo of doing nothing, which has cost the average family a $1,000 increase in energy bills over the past eight years.
America's energy costs will increase by $420 billion annually within the next 5 years if we do nothing to reduce our dependence on oil and fossil fuels. That amounts to $3,500 annually for every family in the nation.
This bill has oversight after oversight, and ensures that consumers aren't hurt at all.
This bill is good for our economy. Low income consumers are protected first, the CBO estimates that this bill will save low income consumers $40 by 2020. The energy efficiency provisions in this bill could save $750 per household by 2020 and $3,900 per household by 2030.
My colleague on the other side of the aisle seems to be giving data compiled by the partisan Heritage foundation, espousing to know something about my district.
But Coloradans already know that in our state we already have many of the provisions that this bill makes federal, like a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. These policies have made Colorado a clean energy leader and have brought our state high tech and high quality jobs.
I encourage my colleagues and the American people to learn about this critical issue, learn about the science, learn about the market mechanisms that this bill creates ..... and DON'T BUY the falsities that big oil and big energy companies are spending millions to promote.
We've had enough. We've had enough of old ideas, of fear, of just saying no to a better tomorrow and we've had enough of old technology running our country and economy into the ground.
It's time we take a significant step forward, shaking the special interests and act boldly for the good of our country. You might be scared, but don't hurt our country because of that fear.
This bill is our Apollo project, our Manhattan project but now we act for a nobler cause and we must act in bold and decisive terms.
I urge passage of this legislation.
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