Madam Speaker, it is an honor to speak in support of this historic legislation.  Congress has never faced a challenge of such magnitude, complexity, or urgency.  Global climate change is an existential threat that undermines our national security and imperils our coastal cities, agricultural heartland, and economic vitality. 

After enduring eight years of intransigence, denial, and fealty to special interests, we are poised to transform the marketplace and spur a new generation of technological and industrial innovation. 

By creating incentives for clean energy we will jump-start investment in production of advanced batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal systems, carbon capture and storage, and cellulosic biofuels.  The dozens of companies that support this legislation have told us that they are poised to make these investments. 
Although we have seen an alarming rise in greenhouse gas pollution, we also know that it is not too late to act.  From New Orleans to Glacier National Park to the Everglades, by acting now we will protect America’s iconic places and our national identity.

I thank Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and their committee for leading the effort to write this legislation.  Like many of my colleagues, I ran for Congress in order to restore economic growth, reform health care, and address global warming.  We have made progress on the first pledge and are embarking on the second.  With my vote for this bill I redeem my pledge to begin to address global warming and ask my colleagues to join me.
  
I also wish to thank Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and the staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee for their collaboration in drafting this bill.  When this discussion draft was released in March, the American Clean Energy and Security Act did not provide dedicated funding for local governments through the State Energy and Environmental Development (SEED) or Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) programs.  I wrote to Chairman Waxman and requested that a portion of funding through these programs be dedicated to local governments, to support local efforts to improve buildings’ efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.  The Committee responded to my request by dedicating SEED funding to local governments and by ensuring that REEP funding would support local weatherization programs.  These important changes ensure that Northern Virginia localities can continue to lead efforts to reduce residents’ electric bills and greenhouse gas pollution.  These changes are very significant for Virginia.  According to the Congressional Research Service, Virginia will receive between $108 and $216 million in SEED funding in 2012.  As a result of the changes I requested, between $13.5 and $27 million should flow directly to local government programs to reduce pollution.

In my letter to Chairman Waxman, I also requested reforms to the transmission siting process in order to protect environmental and cultural resources.  Northern Virginians know that we must act to correct deficiencies to the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which creating a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor process that granted unprecedented authority for federal agencies to site transmission lines without regard for the impact on environmental and cultural resources or property values.  Fortunately, the manager’s amendment that is incorporated in the American Clean Energy and Security Act takes the important first step of ensuring that state and federal environmental agencies and land managers have a role in planning siting of transmission lines.  Although additional reform of the transmission siting process will still be needed, this change will better enable us to protect important regional resources such as Manassas Battlefield, Prince William Forest Park, and Shenandoah National Park from transmission line placement. 

I also applaud Chairman Waxman for incorporating an amendment proposed by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus, of which I am a member.  This amendment ensures that the Federal government will derive 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.  This proposal, which Chairman Waxman incorporated into the manager’s amendment, is particularly important for Northern Virginia because it will result in renewable energy deployment to power Federal facilities in the National Capital Region.  This is important because we must move to clean energy generation if our region is to achieve ground level ozone reductions recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are essential for public health.

Finally, I thank Mr. Waxman for incorporating language that expresses the sense of Congress that International Civil Aviation Association to limit aviation-related emissions worldwide.  Following Committee passage of H.R. 2454, the Washington Airports Task Force asked members of the Northern Virginia delegation to identify a role for the International Civil Aviation Association in limiting emissions, and I asked the Committee to see if they could address the Washington Airports Task Force’s request.  I believe that the language incorporated in Mr. Waxman’s management amendment is a step in the right direction, and appreciate his willingness to address this issue at a late point in the legislative process.
 
In summary, Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and the staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee have been very responsive to my requests for changes to this bill that benefit Northern Virginia.  I greatly appreciate their willingness to work with members like me to ensure that this legislation will benefit residents of Northern Virginia and across the country.  As important as it is to have sound overarching legislation, I believe it is also essential that the legislative process allow individuals and businesses from across the country to have a role in crafting this bill.  Because of the outstanding work by Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and their committee, this bill has evolved to reflect the needs of Northern Virginians and others from across the country.

Finally, I would like to offer special praise to my colleague from Virginia, Mr. Boucher.  As a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Boucher played a central role in writing the American Clean Energy and Security Act.  He is the only Virginia Congressman on that Committee, and I believe he did an outstanding job representing the interests of the Commonwealth.  Specifically, he ensured that coal-reliant states like ours can transition to cleaner energy sources without creating price spikes and without negatively impacting regions where coal extraction is important economically.  This was a difficult balance to strike, and required the skill and experience of a legislator of Mr. Boucher’s caliber.  Years from now, when coal extraction and electricity generation is substantially cleaner than today, and when Virginia finally has significant renewable electricity generation, we may look back and thank Mr. Boucher for his role in crafting this legislation that made such a transition possible.

Congress has never dealt with such a complex bill of such fundamental importance to our economy, environment, and quality of life.  Led by Mr. Waxman and Mr. Markey, the American Clean Energy and Security Act reflects a carefully-crafted consensus that has the support of large utilities and environmental organizations alike.  While forging this consensus the Committee found time to address requests such as mine.  I thank Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey, and am proud to cast my vote for the American Clean Energy and Security Act.