John Kerry: “I thank the Chair. Let me begin by thanking first Senator Boxer for her unbelievable leadership in this effort, as well…”

“I thank the Chair. Let me begin by thanking first Senator Boxer for her unbelievable leadership in this effort, as well as Senator Lieberman and Senator Warner, all of whom have worked diligently on the Environment and Public Works Committee. As everybody knows, there are some shared committee assignments with respect to this issue--the Commerce Committee and the Energy Committee--but I think there has been a superb effort of bringing everybody together under one roof, and that has largely been because of Senator Boxer's determination to get us to this point. We are here to debate what is absolutely--and it is interesting. We hear it from colleague after colleague on the other side of the aisle. They say: Oh, yes, we have to do a global climate change bill; yes, this is a critical issue. Then they add the caveat: But not this bill, not this time; then not providing a genuine effort or alternative to say this is how it could work. It is also interesting to note there has been a huge shift in America with respect to this issue. Major Fortune 500 companies support the fundamental underlying precept of this bill.”