We send more than $400 billion a year to foreign countries to pay for imported oil. I want to use incentives to spark the development of energy-efficient cars, appliances and buildings. America is capable of developing domestic energy resources like solar, wind, geothermal, clean coal and hydropower. That’s why I supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which will create approximately 95,000 jobs in Florida alone. If we produce more energy at home, we can break our dependence on foreign oil.
I serve on two subcommittees under the Science and Technology Committee: Environment and Energy. The Environment Subcommittee oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal entity tasked with monitoring severe storms, tracking oceanic and atmospheric conditions, and providing guidance on use of coastal resources. NOAA’s work is crucial to the safety and well-being of Floridians, who are greatly impacted by extreme weather events. As the only Floridian on this subcommittee, I hope to work closely with NOAA to ensure that our state remains a top tourism destination, and a safe place to live.
While serving on the Energy Subcommittee, which is in charge of the government’s research programs on energy, I hope to incentivize alternative energy ideas and new methods for energy production. We can unleash American ingenuity to not only lower the cost of energy, but also to mitigate the ill-effects of energy production on the environment. Our nation’s greatest resource is our unrelenting ability to identify smart solutions for the challenges we face.
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