Energy
The issue of Energy is important to our district and to my work in Congress.
The deadly Japanese earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi complex made us take a closer look at our own nuclear power industry. Illinois operates eleven nuclear reactors at six different plants, more than any other state in the nation. I toured the Dresden II plant recently and was assured that extra backup safety measures both on the plant site and away from it have been updated. I continue to express concern over the management and storage of nuclear waste. I have also expressed concern over the inspection process and whether inspectors are sufficiently independent of the companies they are charged to help regulate.
As the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power, I will continue to fight to protect the US Environmental Protection Agency from being dismantled through Republican-led funding cuts. Recent budget proposals seek to cut $3 billion dollars, 1/3rd of the EPA’s budget. The same people who want to dismantle EPA are fighting to allow oil companies to keep $3.6 billion dollars in tax credits at a time when those companies are making record profits. All this while average Americans struggle to pay for gasoline and Chicagoans pay the highest prices in the nation. This inequity must not be allowed to stand.
The battle to protect our local air and water is on-going. I am strongly committed to maintaining The Clean Air Act, to promoting the Restoration of the Great Lakes, to passing the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance, to regulating Greenhouse Gases, to safeguarding our water supply from contamination, and the protection of our planet from the ravages of manmade climate change. These issues remain a top priority on my legislative agenda.
More on Energy
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) commended the Department of Energy for releasing its second Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) entitled “Transforming the Nation’s Electricity System”. This report focuses on increasing economic value and ensuring consumer equity, enabling a clean electricity future and ensuring electricity system reliability, security and resilience.
WASHIINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) spoke during the opening session of the conference committee to resolve differences between the Senate and the House energy bills. This is the first time the 46 members of the committee met. Rush offered opening remarks that called for inclusion of underrepresented groups for energy- and manufacturing-related jobs in the burgeoning fields. Rush remarked, “If we want to make sure that all communities are able to succeed then we must be willing to invest in these communities.”
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) brought home another victory for his constituents and underrepresented Americans in the energy and manufacturing fields as his bill, H.R. 4583, To promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce, passed in the House on a suspension vote — a practice typically reserved for noncontroversial legislation that requires a two-third majority to pass.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), ranking democratic member of the Subcommittee on Energy & Power continues to put pressure on the Energy & Commerce Committee to increase funding toward training for manufacturing and energy jobs for underrepresented groups. In his opening statement at a markup yesterday, Rush urged the Committee to move the 21st Century Workforce Development bill through the legislative process. The bill would make training minorities, women, veterans, and displaced workers a national priority.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) released the following statement after delegates to the COP21 Paris Climate Summit announced a final agreement to limit carbon pollution and address the climate crisis:
“I commend President Obama, President Hollande, Secretary Kerry and the entire U.N. delegation on this historic international climate change agreement. The world has come together to put a halt to increasing global emissions and address the real effects of climate change.