Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be cosponsoring H.R. 9, which we will be voting on this week. H.R. 9 reaffirms the United States' commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is long past time that we do more to fight climate change. Fighting climate change has been a priority of mine since I got to Congress more than a decade ago. In 2007, in an era of divided government, we were able to make some progress. I was able to get two bills passed into law that address climate change. One required the Federal Government to cut energy usage by installing energy-efficient light bulbs in Federal buildings. The other created a new prize competition to encourage development of clean transportation fuel. It seemed that we were starting to take climate change seriously. In 2009 and 2010, more steps were taken. In order to make a major breakthrough, in 2009, I helped introduce the first bipartisan bill to impose a revenue-neutral carbon fee. However, in 2010, Congress failed to pass major climate legislation, and since then, we have failed to make more progress. Today, I have renewed hope. H.R. 9 is a good first step, but much more needs to be done. I am an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would institute a carbon fee with the revenue returned to Americans with a dividend check. This bill would bring greenhouse gas emissions down 90 percent by 2050.…”