I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, the one who will ascend to the dean of the House, the legendary civil rights icon.

I want to thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

21 years ago, January of 1993, I was sworn into the 103rd Congress as the 28th Representative of the historic First Congressional District of Illinois. One of the first Members of Congress to welcome me with the most heartwarming words and…

I want to congratulate the previous speaker, my friend from Michigan, Mike Rogers, for his distinguished service to this Nation and to this Congress. I had the privilege of meeting Mike when he first became a Member of this House. I…

Well, I want to thank my friend and colleague, Danny K. Davis, from my home State, my former city council colleague and my compatriot in all things that are in the nature of justice, equality, and standing for the goodness of not only this…

I would love to ask my colleague from Chicago, Mr. Danny K. Davis, I yield to him.

I certainly want to begin by thanking the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Waxman, for his outstanding leadership on this and other matters that have come before the Energy and Commerce Committee. I want to say to him that his…

As President Obama pointed out, there is an independent process taking place, and this bill shortcuts the approval process and would allow, Mr. Speaker, this bill would allow a foreign company to preemptively seize property from American…

H.R. 4526 will help achieve our shared goal of fuller participation by more Americans in the 21st Century American energy renaissance.

Since taking over as ranking member of this subcommittee, one of my top priorities has been to increase opportunities for minorities within all sectors of the energy industry.

If we don't proactively train and prepare the 21st century energy workforce, I mean, what is at stake?

What opportunities can you foresee if this bill were to pass for business expansion and business creation for minorities and women?

The demand for them was so great.

I want to thank other members of the subcommittee and other members of the House who have already cosponsored this important legislation.

I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to also commend you for not only cosponsoring H.R. 4526, but also for holding this important hearing today on an issue that is a high priority for me and for my constituents.

I also find EPA's proposed efforts dictating electricity usage to be troubling.

Most of all, I am very concerned what this proposed rule would do to electricity costs for consumers and for job-creating businesses.

The EPA's Clean Power Plan is a reasonable approach to reducing emissions from power plants.

Overall, I see great risks in allowing EPA to overrule each state's choices as to the best electricity mix.

We need to reduce our carbon pollution if we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Mr. Chairman, I would ask that the record reflect that Commissioner Clark's two sons have been the most attentive and intense listeners we have had.

The American people are tired of the finger pointing, they are tired of the excuse after excuse.

So, Mr. Chairman, we are not California, we are not Kentucky, we are Illinois.

This investment in renewables has helped not only make us less dependent on carbon-intensive energy sources, but has also created tens of thousands of good-paying jobs all across the country.

So young people inside the city of Chicago, in your district and in my district, are actually the raw material of a lifestyle--a middle class lifestyle--for these small towns that surround these prisons because they are in the prisons, and…