Achieving Energy Independence and Safeguarding the Environment

To see video of Congresswoman Lee speaking on this issue, please click here.

“I strongly believe in defending the environment and the public interest.  I am opposed to efforts to weaken clean air and water protections, to leaving taxpayers with the burdens that should be borne by polluters, and to sacrificing our public lands for private corporate gain. I will continue to work to protect the environment, combat environmental injustice, promote investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and to safeguard the health of the American public. ”

- Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a strong defender of the environment and the public interest. She is committed to defending the environment from attempts to cut spending on environmental and health protections and to maintaining and strengthening current environmental protection standards.

Congresswoman Lee continues to be outspoken in her opposition to the Administration’s misguided environmental and energy policies. She opposed the President’s energy bill which provides huge tax-payer funded giveaways to the oil and gas industry at a time when these very companies are making record breaking profits on the backs of consumers paying high prices at the pump.

Congresswoman Lee also does not believe that subsidies for nuclear power or inefficient coal-to-liquids projects are the path to a secure and environmentally sound energy future for America. Instead, she is committed to investing in truly clean and renewable alternative energy sources that will create new jobs, reduce American dependence on oil, and create a greener future.

Congresswoman Lee is also committed to fighting for environmental justice.  Environmental injustices can be seen in the fact that environmental toxins and pollutants are often found concentrated in those areas living on the economic and social margins. Asthma rates among the urban poor are reaching alarming rates, and Oakland, for example, has one of the highest asthma rates in the country. Everyday actions to combat these and other environmental injustices by reducing pollution and cleaning up toxic waste can pay dividends, but only with the proper funding and a steady commitment from governments and individuals at the local, state and federal levels.
 
Congresswoman Lee also believes that we must also couple our efforts to protect the environment here at home with the broader global community. While we act locally we must indeed think globally.  To that end, the United States must act as an advocate for positive change rather than an obstacle in addressing pollution, global warming, climate change, over-fishing, and other such environmental challenges.

Congresswoman Lee, in her efforts as a representative of California’s 9th district, is committed to:

• Strengthening the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act: Congresswoman Lee is a strong opponent of any bill that would jeopardize the quality of the air we breathe or the water we drink, or that would let any polluter off the hook for damaging our environment.
• Maintaining the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws and protections: Everyone, including the Department of Defense, should be held to all existing U.S. environmental laws.

Sponsored Legislation

• HR 5881:  The Environment Public Health and Restoration Act – Directs the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and make recommendations to address ten of the most egregious changes to Federal rules and regulations under the Bush Administration which could have potentially harmful impacts on public health, air quality, water quality, plant and animal wildlife, global climate, or the environment.

Co-Sponsored Legislation (Partial List)

• HR 1590: The Safe Climate Act – Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national targets for a 2 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year from 2010-2050 and creates regulations requiring reductions to meet such targets by setting caps on emissions, by issuing and authorizing trading of emission allowances, and by imposing penalties for excess emissions.
• HR 2918: California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act – Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas pre-leasing, leasing, and related activities in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf located off the coast of California.
• HR 5560: The Right to Clean Vehicles Act – Overturns the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to deny California’s request for a waiver under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. This will also provide the authority for seventeen other states seeking to follow suit in setting aggressive greenhouse gas emission standards.
• HR 2169: The Clean Water Protection Act – Amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify that fill material cannot be comprised of waste in order to protect and preserve natural waterways and affected species.
• HR 6330: Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices (PUMP) Act – Closes loopholes in the Commodity Exchange Act in order to better monitor trades and prevent market manipulation to reduce the inflation of energy prices.
• HR 6401: The Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act – Incentivizes, and provides long-term investment security for renewable electric generation facilities through a feed-in tariff system, otherwise known as renewable energy payments.
• HR 6316: Climate MATTERS Act – Implements a comprehensive Cap-and-Trade system which will require a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
• HR 3366: The Military Environmental Responsibility Act – Requires the Department of Defense to fully comply with Federal and State environmental laws.
• HR 5575: Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act – Prohibits the issuance of permits for proposed new coal-fired electric generating units under the Clean Air Act that do not use state-of-the-art control technology to capture and permanently sequester carbon dioxide emissions
• HR 39: Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act – Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System to preserve the Arctic coastal and its extraordinary natural ecosystems
• HR 1506: Fuel Economy Reform Act – Expands and increases corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards by 4 percent per year. Requires an average CAFE standard of 27.5 mpg for automobiles manufactured in model year 2012, and an average CAFE standard of 35 mpg in 2018.
• HR 6057: Polar Bear Seas Protection Act – Initiates a study of impacts of climate change and oil and gas exploration on species in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Directs the Interior Department to designate critical habitat areas for the polar bear and would require improved oil spill response technologies prior to new oil and gas operations in the so-called Polar Bear Seas

For more information contact the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee at 202-225-2661.