[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 7, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 26, 2009

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, today, our nation takes a historic step 
toward a clean energy economy. The American Clean Energy and Security 
(ACES) Act will revolutionize American energy policy, combat climate 
change, and provide a unique opportunity to revive our economy and 
create millions of clean energy jobs.
  Some key provisions of the bill include a requirement for electric 
utilities to meet 20 percent of their electricity demand through 
renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by 2020, a cap-and-trade 
global warming reduction plan designed to reduce economy-wide 
greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020, and a new building 
efficiency standard requiring new buildings to be 30 percent more 
efficient by 2012 and 50 percent by 2016. These and other provisions 
will encourage new renewable requirements for utilities, studies and 
incentives regarding new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, 
energy efficiency incentives for homes and buildings, and grants for 
green jobs.
  In my home state of New York, clean-energy investments will create 
tens of thousands of jobs. A total of $150 billion in clean-energy 
investments across the country is estimated to result in about $10 
billion in investment revenue and 109,000 jobs in New York State. These 
additional jobs in the New York labor market would have brought the 
state's unemployment rate down to 4.3 percent from its actual 2008 
level of 5.4 percent.
  In addition to creating millions of new jobs, the ACES Act will make 
our nation more energy independent. Under this legislation, we can 
significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil by promoting 
renewable energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass 
energy. New clean energy and energy efficiency technologies, along with 
more efficient vehicles, will also help reduce our need for oil.
  Now, you'll hear some say that this bill will tax individuals for 
using energy. The truth is that the energy-efficiency and consumer 
protection provisions in the ACES Act will actually cut the electricity 
bill for an average New Yorker by around $5.60 every month. In these 
tough economic times, the ACES Act is both environmentally sound and 
economically responsible.
  I thank Chairmen Waxman and Markey and Speaker Pelosi for their 
leadership in negotiating this important bill, and I am pleased to vote 
in favor of it.

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