The paramount responsibility of the Secretary of Energy is advancing the nation's response to this existential threat.

I really believe that with our great resource out there of coal that finding a way to make everybody happy and burning it and giving jobs back to the 9th District that had been stripped away over the last few years is extremely important.

I don't think anyone realistically can say that we can meet our electricity demands in this country and remain competitive without a strong fossil fuel presence.

President Obama got it exactly right in his State of the Union address when he said that if Congress did not act, he would.

What matters is not whether U.S. emissions have declined; it is whether we are on track to decline in the future by the amount needed to prevent dangerous climate change.

What are some of the ongoing uses of those chemicals that might lead to dangerous exposures?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to continue to pursue that issue because there are a lot of different causes for disease and we can isolate some but we can't know all the factors that are happening.

And we need more policies to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. Do you agree?

Endocrine disruptors have not been, and I think there is an effort--the endocrine disruption panel that should be working on this is, I don't know, 10 years behind time, I think.

It is very important, I think, to the development of renewable energy in Colorado and opportunities that we have on federal lands and resources.

This Committee--and the Republican-controlled House--has become one of the last remaining refuges of the flat earth society.

Have adequate restrictions been imposed on these chemicals that you are discussing to prevent human exposure to the extent possible?

TSCA is an important law because of its role in protecting the American public from dangerous chemicals, and it is long overdue for strengthening.

The Department of Energy will benefit from your expertise and leadership and we look forward to working with you as the Nation continues its transition to a clean energy economy.

There is no debate about the science that indicates that climate change is happening now and it is caused by humans and the impacts are real.

The European Union is committed to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions from its member states by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels and is on track to meet this target.

But the results of this, it appears quite clearly, is not working.

Climate change is the biggest energy challenge we face. There is no debate about the science.

I think today's opening statements reflected the divergent views here in the Congress about energy and its impact on economic growth and job promotion.

I start from the presumption that we should pursue a clean reauthorization.

I am particularly interested in the testimony of Mr. Thompson of Arkansas on how his State has been working to reform the delivery system and how the Affordable Care Act will positively affect his State's residents.

I hope our discussion today will include consideration of whether today's video marketplace is making diverse and independent content available to all Americans.

Congress must complete its work before the law expires so consumers do not inadvertently lose access to programming.

The Affordable Care Act provided a good foundation and charted the right path forward.

I am pleased that the Chairman has reached out to us to try to move forward in a bipartisan fashion.