Energy & Environment

Our current tax policy values wasteful and dirty energy generation over clean, renewable technology. This session, Congress has the ability to reform our tax system to spur innovation, save energy, and make our communities more livable.

I am currently working on several pieces of legislation to use the tax code to promote carbon neutral and environmentally positive policies.

Last month, I introduced H.R. 1772, the Rural Wind Energy Development Act. This legislation would provide an investment tax credit to help individuals offset the high upfront cost of installing a small wind turbine, which creates clean, renewable energy. Read more...

Last week my office was leaked an alarming email from chlorine industry insiders revealing that there have been both successful and attempted thefts of 150-pound toxic chlorine cylinders from several California water treatment facilities.  These revelations make clear that there are massive security gaps at chemical facilities around the country.  In fact, it appears that there are nightclubs in New York City that are harder to get into than some of our nation’s chemical plants.

Most of us think of chlorine as nothing more than a strong-smelling chemical that helps keep swimming pools clean.  But in the hands of the wrong people, chlorine can pose a serious danger to Americans. According to media reports at least five chlorine truck bombs have exploded in Iraq in recent months, killing dozens of people and injuring many more after they breathed the toxic fumes. And experts have estimated that a rail tanker car full of chlorine could kill or injure 100,000 people just in the first half hour! Read more...

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation which I was proud to cosponsor with Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to regulate the transportation and disposal of international waste. The vote was encouraging but not surprising because this is a commonsense issue in Congress. The process of planning, developing and maintaining landfills is often contentious and expensive. And our communities should not be forced to sit back and watch as their resources are overwhelmed with trash from outside the United States.

International waste has become a huge burden for my neighbors to the north in the State of Michigan with more than 415 truckloads of Canadian trash crossing the border, largely unchecked, every day. Read more...

Earth Day provides us an excellent opportunity to put aside ideological differences and face the challenges of climate change head on.

Over the past year, events have finally helped create consensus that climate change requires government action and international cooperation.  Earlier this year, my committee held hearings to explore the ramifications of the latest Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) reports.  The first report highlighted the growing scientific consensus that human influence is causing the climate to change. The second report provided a powerful statement of the impacts of climate change around the world.

As Chairman, I was encouraged to see the broad bipartisan agreement and interest in the science of climate change.  As a committee with important jurisdiction over this issue, we will be active in working on legislation to address this global crisis.  Read more...

Last weekend in cities across the country people came together to celebrate Earth Day and learned more about how we can and must act to save our planet. Nowhere is it more appropriate to observe Earth Day than on the Central and South Coasts, one of the most beautiful places in America and a place where environmental stewardship has become the rule rather than the exception. Earth Day holds particular significance for our community because the idea was conceived after Senator Gaylord Nelson visited Santa Barbara to witness the devastating effects of the 1969 oil spill.

I remember well the tragic aftermath of that 1969 oil spill. The long term damage to the local economy and environment caused by that historic oil spill helped jump start the modern environmental movement and it convinced me that there was a better way to meet our nation’s energy needs.

We have come a long way in the past 37 years. Our oceans, rivers, and lakes are cleaner, and our parks and open spaces are vaster. Yet much remains to be done, particularly in the areas of energy independence and Global Warming. Fortunately the new Democratically-led Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, has made a commitment to addressing environmental issues.

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On Earth Day, we must rededicate ourselves to addressing global warming and making America more energy independent.  We owe it to future generations to act now.  Investing in alternative energy sources and ending our addiction on foreign oil will be good for our environment, our health, our economy, and our national security.

The science is clear -- global warming exists, and we have caused it.  Now, Congress is stepping up and taking the lead on addressing global climate change.   By setting specific and achievable targets, we can significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.   As the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to date, the U.S. must lead by example, and reduce our carbon emissions. Read more...

Last Thursday the Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee unanimously passed legislation authorizing new safety measures and providing a workable framework for sharing costs associated with security at federally operated dams. Although the Department of Interior currently does not support H.R. 1662, I hope they will reconsider their position as the bill proceeds through the Natural Resources Committee and onto the House floor in the near future. I am encouraged that representatives from Interior Department are meeting with stakeholders to try and resolve disagreements on how much they believe the federal government should pay for dam site security costs after 9/11. I am grateful for the bipartisan support this bill has garnered, especially from Water and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.), as we both agree that water and power customers should not pay more than 15% of all security costs (including capital, operation and maintenance costs, guards and patrols and fortification upgrades) at federal storage projects.

Today, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming convened for the first time to begin to address the serious question of how our national security is threatened by the global warming and our nation's dependence on foreign oil. This is first conversation in a continued dialogue that the committee will have to address how America's addiction to oil can hold us hostage to foreign countries, many of which are anti-American and anti-democracy.  Moreover, our oil addiction and oil consumption have contributed to where we are with global warming-a brewing storm, that if we do not address soon will have even a greater impact on our foreign policy and national security.

This crisis demands a focused and comprehensive answer.  It is an issue that requires a national and worldwide commitment for the long term.  Rather than looking abroad, I believe simple, viable alternative energy solutions can be found in our backyard, from the fuel cell manufacturers of Connecticut to wind fields in Texas to the ethanol producing corn fields in South Dakota.  By supporting this type of American innovation in renewable and alternative energy, we can grow the economy, protect the environment, and refocus our foreign policy and national security priorities.

The people of Maine have always been faithful stewards of the forest because we understand its tremendous value to our economy and to our way of life.   From the vast tracts of undeveloped land in the north to the small woodlots in the south, forest land has helped to shape the character of our entire state.

While our commitment to stewardship has preserved the forest for generations, a threat to Maine’s working landscape requires a fresh approach.  This threat is suburban sprawl, which has already consumed tens of thousands of acres of forest land in southern Maine.  Sprawl occurs because the economic value of forest or farm land cannot compete with the value of developed land.

Sprawl threatens our environment and our quality of life.  It destroys eco-systems, increasing the risk of flooding and other environmental hazards.  It burdens the infrastructure of the affected communities, increases traffic on neighborhood streets, and leads to the fragmentation of woodlots, reducing the economic viability of the remaining working forests. Read more...

S. 987 simply ignores coal-to-liquids fuel. I believe liquid fuel from coal will be a tremendous domestic resource to reduce our dependence on foreign sources. Some folks say that coal-based fuel will create more greenhouse gas emissions than our current gasoline – that’s simply wrong. The only way that would be true is if we did nothing to capture and sequester the carbon emissions. I am just as supportive of addressing the greenhouse gas emissions of coal-to-liquids as I am about getting a commercial size CTL plant up and running in the United States. Folks want to believe that biofuels are carbon neutral – they are not. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to produce biofuels -- diesel to run the tractors, natural gas to produce the fertilizer, and even more diesel to run the trucks and trains that deliver it. We know we can’t put ethanol into existing pipelines. Our infrastructure is not adequate to begin to deliver fuels such as ethanol in pipelines. We must reduce our reliance on foreign energy, become better stewards of the environment, and utilize our domestic sources, including coal, in an efficient and affordable way. I don’t believe that S. 987 goes far enough toward achieving those goals.