On the recordJune 20, 2012
Mr. Chairman, since the beginning of the 112th Congress, we have held over 30 Energy and Power Subcommittee and joint subcommittee hearings. We have held over a dozen subcommittee and full committee markups, and including H.R. 4480, which we will vote on today, we have had 10 bills that originated from the Energy and Power Subcommittee that have been voted on by the full House. Yet, Mr. Chairman, from all of that time and all that effort, the Energy and Power Subcommittee has produced exactly one substantive bill. Let me repeat: only one substantive, significant bill, the Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Act, the only one that has actually become law. Mr. Chairman, instead of focusing our efforts on trying to create the clean energy jobs of the 21st century, the majority party has spent the past 18 months lobbing partisan attacks against the EPA and the Clean Air Act in order to appease Big Oil and some of the more extreme constituencies that the Republican Party represents. Mr. Chairman, most Americans would like to see us utilizing our time working in a bipartisan manner to address critical issues, such as access to jobs, clean air, and clean water, less dependence on foreign oil, enhanced energy-efficiency measures, and an increased reliance on the cleaner and renewable energy sources of the future.…





