[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 164 (Thursday, November 5, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CLEAN ENERGY JOBS AND AMERICAN POWER ACT

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I was proud to cast my vote today in the 
Environment and Public Works Committee for S. 1733, the Clean Energy 
Jobs and American Power Act. At this critical juncture in our Nation's 
history, we face an economic crisis, an energy security crisis, and a 
global climate crisis. The good news is that the solutions to these 
problems are intertwined with one another. This bill will help us meet 
these challenges and emerge stronger than we are today. We have an 
urgent responsibility to move forward and I want to thank the chairman 
of our committee, Senator Barbara Boxer, for her leadership and courage 
in taking action on this bill today.
  If we do not act on this bill which invests in clean, domestic 
energy, we will be stuck with an energy policy that is undermining our 
national security and our economy.
  If we do not act on this bill which invests in the industries of 
tomorrow, we will continue to lose clean energy jobs, jobs that stem 
from American inventions and ideas, to countries overseas.
  If we do not act on this bill which provides significant investment 
in clean fuels and public transit, we will lose an opportunity to 
change the way we move people and goods around this country. Right now, 
the transportation sector represents 30 percent of our greenhouse gas 
emissions and 70 percent of our oil use. If we could double the number 
of transit riders in the United States, we would reduce our dependence 
on foreign oil by more than 40 percent, nearly the amount of we import 
from Saudi Arabia each year.
  If we do not act on this bill, we face irreversible, catastrophic 
climate change. Our children and grandchildren--my two grandchildren--
face a world where there is not enough clean water, food, or fuel, a 
world that is less diverse, less beautiful, less secure.
  I am glad that the majority members of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee convened today in order to act. And we needed to act on 
this bill today because this is a global problem and we want all 
countries to act. In just a few weeks, the international community will 
meet in Copenhagen to work on an international agreement to do just 
that.
  I am hopeful that Copenhagen will produce an agreement on the 
architecture of a final climate regime in which countries make a 
commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I hope we have an 
agreement that spells out the mechanism for reaching and enforcing 
those targets as well as outlining the financing for the developing 
world.
  In my role as chairman of the Commission for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe and as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I speak 
often to our colleagues in Europe and around the world. And what other 
countries want to know before they take additional steps--or take first 
steps--on climate change is: Where is the United States? They are 
impressed with the action the Obama administration has taken. They are 
happy to see that the House has acted.
  But for the countries of the world to commit to reduce greenhouse 
gasses in Copenhagen in just a few weeks, they want to see that both 
Houses of Congress are serious. They want to know that the Senate is 
making progress toward producing comprehensive climate legislation. The 
vote today in the Environment and Public Works Committee demonstrates 
that progress.
  But this bill is good for this country and good for Maryland even if 
we don't get an international agreement. Marylanders understand the 
opportunities this bill promises. With this bill, we can invest in 
clean energy jobs: like those at Algenol in Baltimore where they are 
national leaders in making fuel from algae; like those at Volvo-Mack 
Truck in Hagerstown where they are making hybrid trucks; like those at 
Chesapeake Geosystems, a Maryland company that is an east coast leader 
in geothermal heating; and like those at DAP that makes spackling that 
is used in weatherizing homes and businesses.
  With this bill, we can invest in the transportation improvements 
Marylanders so desperately need. Transit ridership in Maryland 
increased by 15 percent in 2008. But recent train and bus accidents in 
the DC Metro area demonstrate that we need new investment in transit. 
Our transit systems will not be a safe and reliable solution to our 
pollution and energy security problems without it.
  Marylanders also know the costs of inaction. The people of Smith 
Island are watching their island disappear under rising sea levels. The 
crabs, fish, and other aquatic life Maryland's watermen rely on are 
disappearing along with their way of life. And it is only going to get 
worse. Maryland's sea levels are projected to rise 3.5 feet. That means 
thousands of Marylanders are going to lose their homes and farms. This 
bill provides critical assistance to States, especially coastal States 
such as Maryland, to help address these challenges and protect our 
treasured resources such as the Chesapeake Bay.
  The vote that we took today in the Environment and Public Works 
Committee is just the beginning of putting America back in control of 
its energy future. And we must remember that even after Copenhagen, any 
deals we reach, any papers we sign, are still but the foundation. The 
work must continue with earnest followthrough, dedication to truly 
changing the way we work and live and move around this Earth. That is 
work for each of us, and we took one important step forward today.

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