Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. I am here to speak in favor of S.J. Res. 14, a resolution I co-led with Representatives DeGette and Lamb. We need to address methane emissions for several reasons, and today, I want to mention three. First, controlling methane is the single most important immediate step we can take to combat climate change, and that is because methane is a super-pollutant responsible for about 25 percent of the man-made warming we experience today. This is the low-hanging fruit in climate mitigation. My Republican colleagues never miss a chance--and you will hear this today--to point out that the natural gas revolution has contributed to our historic energy independence and cut our carbon dioxide emissions from energy production. That is right, but there is still a problem, and that problem is fugitive methane emissions. While burning natural gas can lower CO<INF>2</INF> emissions by as much as 40 to 50 percent versus burning coal, almost all of that benefit, from a climate change perspective, is wiped out even with small leaks of methane, which we have today. Put simply, to reap the climate benefits of natural gas, which are often touted, we have to address methane emissions. Second, controlling methane is critical to the economic competitiveness of the U.S. natural gas industry.…”