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Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act 27 October 2009
The Senate Committee on Energy and Public Works held a hearing this week on climate change legislation, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (Senate bill 1733), kicking off a three-day marathon of hearings that will involve testimonies from federal agencies, environmentalists, various industries, think tanks, and the military. S. 1733 is the Senate version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (House Resolution 2454) that narrowly passed the House of Representatives by one vote in June.
The hearing began with testimony from Senator Kerry (D-MA), who does not sit on the Committee but, rather, was a witness. Senator Kerry affirmed, “The science is more definitive than ever. The science is screaming at us to take action.” He reminded the Committee that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of action, causing the G20 leaders to agree not to allow the world to warm more than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures. He also noted that a voluntary approach does not work and therefore the US needs legislation that sets mandatory caps on pollution. But, Senator Kerry promised the legislation would help attract new investment, spur a new industrial revolution, and would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Next, the members of the Committee stated their positions in regard to climate change and the proposed legislation. The ranking member of the Committee, Senator Inhofe (R-OK), believes there is debate in the scientific community as to whether or not climate change is occurring. Therefore, he is skeptical of climate change and does not support the legislation.
Senator Baucus (D-MT), who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, which would play a large role in regard to a cap and trade scheme, noted, “The legislation today is about protecting our outdoor heritage” and Montana cannot afford the unmitigated impacts of climate change. Furthermore, as a bit of a surprise, Senator Alexander (R-TN) acknowledged that he believes climate change is real and occurring. However, he prefers constructing 100 new nuclear power plants and using electricity to power half of the nation’s cars and trucks in 20 years to the solutions proposed in S. 1733. Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) also supports including nuclear power provisions in the bill.
Senators Lautenberg (D- NJ), Merkley (D-OR), Udall (D-NM) Whitehouse (D-RI) Sanders (I-VT), and Cardin (D-MD) were mostly united in their belief that immediate action is necessary, including energy efficiency and conservation, reduction of greenhouse gases, environmental preservation, and investment in new energy technologies.
On the other hand, Senators Bond (R-MO), Crapo (R-ID), Voinovich (R-OH), Barasso (R-WY), and Vitter (R-LA) all expressed concern over the costs consumers would bear during these difficult economic times if the legislation were passed.
The Committee then turned to its panel of witnesses, which included Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson, and Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Jon Wellinghoff. All of the witnesses expressed their support for S. 1733 and emphasized the need to act immediately on climate change legislation.
During the question and answer portion, many Senators were interested in the impacts S. 1733 would have on the nation. Secretary Salazar said the bill will have a dramatic and positive impact on preserving our nation's icons. Administrator Jackson reminded the Committee that a cap and trade scheme which was set up to combat sulfur dioxide emissions and acid rain in the early 1990s proved to be much less expensive than originally thought because there were strong market incentives. She also stated the EPA would prefer legislative action to solve the greenhouse gas problem, but the EPA will regulate emissions if Congress does not take action.
Secretary Chu added that green jobs are the jobs of the future because they cannot be exported. Therefore, the US should invest in a green economy. Secretary Chu added that Americans need to work very hard to conserve energy. Secretary LaHood informed the Committee that the Department of Transportation is working hard to increase public transportation and make more livable communities that require less driving. Finally, Administrator Wellinghoff stated that, traditionally, FERC would like to begin encouraging energy companies to dispatch their energy, drawing on various energy sources, based upon environmental signals and not just economic signals.
Two more days of hearings on S. 1733 will follow. Read the witness' statements or watch the webcast.