Charles Rangel: “I have asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to make available to the public a technical explanation of the…”

“I have asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to make available to the public a technical explanation of the tax provisions of H.R. 5351. The technical explanation expresses the committee's understanding and legislative intent behind this important legislation. This explanation, document JCX-19-08, is currently available on the Joint Committee's Web site. H.R. 5351 presents a step in the right direction as Congress moves to address the issue of climate change and energy security. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity today to once again visit this important international and certainly national crisis that our country is facing today. Richard Neal, an outstanding member of the Oversight Committee, working with my dear friend, Phil English, was able to explore how the Congress might be more aggressive in dealing with this serious problem. It is clear that one day our children and grandchildren will be asking us, during this period of time, what were we doing as relates to climate control. What role did we play to avoid our dependency on fossil fuel? How many lives have been lost as a result of our Nation feeling insecure about oil reserves throughout the world? Did we attempt to conserve? Did we protect the Earth? Did we create the jobs? Did we fulfill our moral obligation?”