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Our nation needs to move toward a cleaner and greener economy. There are significant benefits to expanding green technology ventures such as those happening in the 16th district. However, a measured approach is necessary in America's transition away from fossil fuel sources. This transition should occur in such a way that it does not punish small businesses, manufacturers, and average citizens. Congress and the President are committed to finding ways to free our country from its dependency on foreign oil. But as vehicles and other machines move away from fossil fuels toward electricity, this will require even more electricity production and a reinforced power grid. To prepare for this, we must be willing to look at all sources of energy, especially domestic sources, to make sure we have an energy portfolio that will meet America's increasing needs. To read H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), please click here. To read how ACES benefits our district, please click here.
Our Declaration of Energy Independence: In the first months of my service as a Member of Congress, I've often reflected on some of the great challenges we've overcome as a nation. I am compelled to reflect on yet another bold step we must take together. As a matter of our economic and national security we must end our dependence on foreign sources of energy and become energy independent in order to fuel our progress and defend our country. That declaration and our first steps together come in the form of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The pillars of this legislation create hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide that cannot be outsourced; producing clean, green energy; protecting our national security; and moving away from our dependence on foreign energy, especially oil. This position is not just mine, but shared by both Democrats and Republicans alike. Energy independence is not a partisan problem and there is not a partisan solution. This is an American challenge and we will find the courage to be energy independent together. The first pillar of this legislation creates hundreds of thousands of jobs producing the equipment and technology required to fuel our great demand for cleaner, greener, and renewable fuels. Can you imagine one day rolling into a fuel station and having a choice to fill-up using bio fuels, traditional gasoline, ethanol or maybe we plug in our electric hybrid battery to get a quick charge. Better yet, we drive by the fuel station altogether because we use a fuel cell which gets 100 miles per gallon. The jobs of tomorrow won't come on their own; we must incubate and grow them domestically so they cannot be outsourced. Today nearly 30,000 jobs in our district relate to building a new energy infrastructure. Nearly 8,000 manufactured parts make the wind turbines that turn our generators and I envision a day when a local steel company makes the ball bearings and a die-cast molding company makes the fiberglass shell. Our district also leads Ohio and, arguably the nation, in fuel cell technology being researched at Stark State University. We are developing plug-in electric drives for commercial and off-road vehicles at the EBO Group in Medina County and the research done at the Ohio State Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC) on methane digesters can revolutionize the way we talk about waste. We are also making investments in sustainable biofuels in Ashland County. This research will put our region on the forefront of these technologies when they reach commercial scale, bringing needed jobs to our area. Wind, solar, bio-fuels, nuclear, and clean coal, with expanded drilling for existing oil and natural gas present Americans with a diversity of energy at our fingertips. The second pillar of the energy legislation protects our national security by moving our nation away from a dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. imports over 60 percent of our oil and nearly 40 percent comes from the Middle East and regions that wish to harm us. Today, more than 80 percent of the world's oil reserves rest in the hands of governments and their respective national oil companies. Sixteen of the world's 20 largest oil companies are state-owned, creating unnecessary geo-political pressures as the price at the pump rises. Why should we continue to be dependent on foreign-owned energy? Some say we should just drill here in America. I support the notion of drilling in our hemisphere, but we only have 3 percent of the oil reserves here and consume 25 percent of the world's oil. It would take only a short time with our consumption of 20 million barrels a day, to exhaust all of our oil - especially if the spigot of foreign oil were cut-off. How would we defend our country if attacked? Emerging economies like China and India increase their demand for oil every day. Now is the time to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Increased fuel efficiency standards, electric cars, synthetic fuel (a derivative of coal), ethanol and research in fuel cells will create thousands of domestic jobs and increase our national security by allowing America to have a diversity of energy. That's why the U.S. Air Force began testing blended and synthetic fuels at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, because they know we cannot continue buying the fuel for our fighter jets from foreign governments. In fact, a fellow veteran, John McCain, agrees. At an August 2007 Presidential debate in New Hampshire, he said, "We have...reasons why we have to be energy independent...one it is a national security issue..." I believe, like Senator McCain, every time Americans challenge themselves to innovate, create and produce, we've become stronger. The Apollo program sent a man to the moon in just a decade - imagine what we can do as we search for alternative fuels with a little American innovation. Senator McCain authored legislation on three occasions challenging the U.S. to invest in alternative fuels by setting a carbon cap and trade system to reduce emissions. He said, "It's cap and trade...it's a free market approach. The Europeans are doing it, we did it in the case of acid rain...If we do that we will stimulate green technologies...this will be a profit making business and it won't cost the American taxpayer." I must admit, when first introduced, the American Clean Energy and Security Act needed a lot of work and I had major concerns it reflected coastal interests. As a 15 year veteran of the Air Force, I saw it as my call to duty to improve our national security. I approached Speaker Nancy Pelosi and told her I'd be hard pressed to support a bill that didn't reflect regional differences like Ohio's use of coal. I also had concerns that wild price changes would occur if we allowed speculators to artificially drive up prices on Wall Street. This large and complex bill changed dramatically since first introduced and now permits extensive research in clean coal technologies. Research in Ohio like the partnership of Babcock & Wilcox and Battele who produce burners that turn electric generators using pulverized coal and oxygen with zero emissions. Coal is still the cheapest and most abundant source of energy we have available and when these technologies come online, according to the U.S. EPA, our demand for coal increases. Additional changes to the bill include a provision that states that Wall Street cannot speculate on energy futures like they do on oil. The legislation restricts betting and ‘hedging' on energy credits and only allows companies that need the credits to participate. Rates also remain low because the legislation empowers states like Ohio with regulated energy industries to prevent them from raising rates on a whim. Let me be clear: There are no taxes in this bill and rates still remain a function of state government. Utility monopolies cannot change rates without approval of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission. This bill did not do away with these state regulatory commissions, charged with protecting consumers, small businesses and large businesses alike from volatile rate spikes. The Ohio Congressional delegation negotiated with leadership on two significant amendments for our state. With the help of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, we established a regional power authority that would serve Ohio and surrounding states. These power authorities already exist in every other region of the country except ours; for example, the Tennessee Valley Authority uses federal dollars to invest in the energy infrastructure. For too long Ohio and our regional neighbors donated resources to states out West, building the Hoover dam and expensive electric grids. We are on our way toward ending that inequity with this amendment. Working with Senator Sherrod Brown and Congressman Zack Space, I introduced (H.R. 3083) to help manufacturers in the United States transition to building and producing the components necessary for alternative energy systems that will make America a leader in new energy production. It provides billions of dollars in loans to small-and medium-sized manufacturers to retool and refit their businesses to create these new products and compete in a clean energy economy. Since these are loans, businesses must repay the money, leaving taxpayers with no cost. This program is critical to helping small businesses across Ohio impacted by the recession, to bounce back and take advantage of these loan opportunities. With these steps toward energy independence, our country has a promising future with renewable fuels. Let's remove the shackles from Middle East oil. While many of these resources are abundant now, our children and our grandchildren will be faced with making some dramatic and costly decisions when they reach our age if we do not begin transforming our energy infrastructure now. As a young boy, I watched a previous Democratic Congress and President failed to act in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices and gasoline shortages. While this shortage was temporary, climbing prices at the pump show us that inaction is not an option. President Teddy Roosevelt said, "The worst thing you can do in a moment of decision is...nothing." We learned our lessons from history and decided to act now to help our generation and those that come after us from being tied to other nations for our energy needs. The American Clean Energy and Security Act is a bold step towards energy independence. This position is not a partisan view, but an American view, and we must begin this journey together for the future of our country.
AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT
MYTH: HR 2454 is a cap and tax bill. MYTH: But the bill will raise energy costs, imposing a hidden energy tax of $3,100 per year. MYTH: This plan will cost jobs and stop economic growth. MYTH: This plan will harm manufacturing and ship jobs overseas. MYTH: This amounts to an economic declaration of war on the Midwest. FACT: Quite the opposite. The bill will spur a clean energy economy to reinvigorate the Midwest's battered manufacturing base and will help Midwestern consumers. More than 50 percent of the value of the carbon credits is set aside to protect consumers, and the bill includes provisions designed specifically to protect consumers in states that rely largely on coal for electricity. [The bill directs local electricity distribution companies, which are given permit values according to their carbon emissions, to pass along that money to consumers to protect them from rate increases on their electricity bills. And the bill provides additional consumer protections including monthly energy refunds for families in need. The bill also contains provisions to protect the manufacturing sector of our economy from unfair competition from foreign countries and companies that refuse to deal with their carbon emissions . The bill includes help for the automobile industry to retool their facilities to build more fuel efficient vehicles . In fact, the bill creates new manufacturing job opportunities in areas hard hit by the recession and the struggles of the auto industry. MYTH: Opponents claim that the legislation requires homeowners pass an energy efficiency inspection prior to selling their homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, "The House‐approved bill: The legislation does contain building code standards for newly constructed buildings, but there are no requirements that existing homes or buildings be upgraded to meet any standards. The Building Energy Performance Labeling Program is limited to new construction only requiring, by January 2014, new residential buildings be constructed to use 30 percent less energy than comparable buildings built to "baseline" standards established in 2006. The bill also provides incentives to lenders and financial institutions to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers who build, buy, or remodel homes and businesses to improve their energy efficiency. These energy usage and efficiency standards are designed to increase public knowledge of building energy usage and efficiency without hindering real estate transactions. The legislation does not interfere with a consumer decision. It is up to the homeowner to decide whether to spend the money on upgrades for existing homes, just like they would to upgrade a bathroom or a kitchen. MYTH: Rural Americans will be adversely impacted from higher energy prices under the bill. MYTH: It is unfair for America to take action on climate change when some of the biggest polluters in the world, like China and India, are not. MYTH: Opponents claim that other House committees have not had a chance to debate energy and climate policy. MYTH: Opponents claim that nobody could have had time to read the bill. FACT: Not true. The bill was formally introduced in the House on May 15th, 2009. It was marked up by the Committee on Energy and Commerce and reported out of that committee on June 6th. That was the version that was considered on the House floor on June 26th, giving members 20 days to read the bill. That was more than enough time. It is true that a 300 page amendment was offered the night prior to the vote; however, the vote did not take place until 20 hours after the amendment was reported, giving members plenty of time to read the final additions to the bill. In fact, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio claimed on the House floor that he had personally spent the day reading the amendment, and had finished it. If opponents did not read the bill, it was because they chose not to. MYTH: Republicans claim that NOT ONE small business had weighed in on energy and climate legislation.
Sources: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 as passed, Pg. 108-125 |
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