Energy & Environment

The need to restore salmon runs on the Columbia and Snake Rivers has long been a contentious issue in the Pacific Northwest. I believe a reasonable solution is possible that both helps salmon and doesn’t call for us tearing down our dams. However, these efforts are being compromised by thousands of California sea lions that eat an estimated 3,000 Chinook salmon each year.  That is why I have recently cosponsored the bipartisan Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act, which authorizes the lethal removal of aggressive sea lions that are preying on endangered Columbia River salmon.

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it can take three to five years for wildlife managers to get permission from the federal government to remove aggressive sea lions. Past attempts to remove the sea lions, which have included them being chased by boats, harassed by rockets and subjected to noise from underwater speakers, have all failed. Read more...

I don't know about you, but every time over the past month I have traveled to the pump to fill my truck up with gas, I've cringed.

As a member of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I am committed to exploring ways in which we can broaden our energy supply through American alternative energy sources.

America must diversify our nation's energy portfolio and find ways to use cleaner burning, home-grown, renewable alternative sources.

Currently, I am working with members from both sides of the aisle to find a solution to our dangerous dependency on Middle Eastern energy, while protecting the American taxpayer. Read more...

Addressing the callousness of the fur industry is a global issue. Fur produced in Portugal is sold as a raw material by in large to China so, fur and fur-trimmed garments sold by U.S. stores labeled “made in China

She was a senior political appointee who ridiculed federal scientists. A civil engineer by training, she sarcastically rejected their recommendations. And she bragged about it.

Now she’s gone.

Julie McDonald, a deputy assistant secretary at the Fish and Wildlife Service, submitted her resignation on May 1, just weeks after an Interior Department Inspector General report criticized her for overriding recommendations of Fish and Wildlife scientists about how to protect endangered species.

While some toasted her departure, our mission has not yet been accomplished. Political interference at federal agencies remains a pervasive problem. Read more...

The issue of the fuel economy of our cars and light trucks is significant as our country faces an increasing energy crisis. Since 9/11 our need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil increases…[We are trying to] develop an approach that would not only advance our national security interests in not only reducing our dependence on foreign oil sources, but also an approach that will avoid unintended consequences that would adversely affect the auto industry and consumer choice.

Believe it or not, that old frying oil used to cook French fries and fried calamari at your local restaurant can also be turned into a safe, non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable source of fuel to power diesel trucks and machinery.

That's why I stopped by Jody's Club Forest in Staten Island, NY and the Yellow Hook Grille in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, recently to discuss my support of legislation to double the tax credit for making biodiesel fuel from recycled restaurant grease from $.50/gallon to $1.00/gallon. This bill, authored by Congressman Burgess (R-Texas), would help reduce the United States' consumption of foreign oil by encouraging the production of an environmentally-sound domestic fuel that can directly replace petroleum products. Read more...

A little known fact is that nearly one third of the total U.S. diet depends on the pollination honeybees provide for a wide variety of crops. Honeybees may be small in stature, but as the contributors of $15 billion in pollination value alone to our domestic agriculture industry each year, their value to our food supply is anything but small.

While we probably still wince at the thought of a painful bee sting from our childhood, there might soon be a day when we wish we could still hear those fuzzy insects buzzing around nearby.

A biological mystery -- the Colony Collapse Disorder -- is wiping out 40 to 60 percent of hives in South Dakota and several other states across the country, with certain states experiencing as high as a 90-percent loss of hives. Scientists are conducting extensive research to determine the origins of this disorder, but its cause and cure remain a mystery. Read more...

On my farm I have to use about 3,000 gallons of diesel each year. Like most Americans, I don’t have other options. And that’s why we’re paying three bucks for gas while CEOs are making $400 million bonuses. Three-dollar gas isn’t good for this farmer, it’s not good for Montana and it’s not good for America.

It’s going to take some hard work, research and innovation, but we will get more choices. And renewable energy is going to be a big part of the picture, especially in my state. In Montana, we’ve got a huge potential for developing alternative energy like biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol and wind power.

It’s a win-win-win situation. Calibrating our potential for alternative energy in America will not only lead to cheaper fuel, it will secure our country and help conserve resources for our future generations.

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...