[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S487-S489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NEW ENERGY AGENDA

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am on the floor today to discuss 
something that has been a top priority for me in the Senate; that is, 
the critical need to get serious about building a new energy agenda for 
America, one that keeps our businesses competitive in the global 
economy, preserves the integrity of our environment, and restarts the 
engine that has always kept our country moving forward--and that is 
innovation. I am specifically focused on the energy tax extenders, 
those that are so necessary for us to keep going in the area of 
homegrown and renewable energy.
  We all know there is no single solution for getting us there. What we 
need is not a silver bullet; we need a silver buckshot, as we like to 
say in Minnesota.
  I have talked about the need with many of my colleagues to continue 
developing alternative resources such as hydro, geothermal, biofuels, 
solar, wind, and we have also talked about how we need to continue to 
develop existing technologies such as domestic oil and gas production 
while enforcing appropriate safeguards. This is the very ``all-of-the-
above'' approach we need to take in order to keep all options on the 
table.
  This means exploring some of the new proposals we have seen with 
promising technologies such as the smart grid. But it also means 
extending the critical tax incentives that have been so important in 
advancing the development of the next generation of biofuels and the 
next generation of renewable energy. That is why I have pushed to 
ensure that we have the right policies in place for encouraging clean 
energy innovation, including the biodiesel tax credit which supports 
over 31,000 jobs and has allowed domestic production to more than 
double since 2011. It means the production tax credit, which made it 
possible for wind power to represent over one-third of all new 
electricity generation capacity in the United States last year.
  Think of that figure. Think of the strides we have made and where we 
can go in the future. The advanced energy manufacturing tax credit has 
leveraged

[[Page S488]]

$5.4 billion in private investment, boosting growth and creating new 
U.S. manufacturing jobs by producing components and equipment for the 
burgeoning global renewable energy industry.
  Extending these critical tax credits will help strengthen our 
country's clean energy businesses so they can continue to grow and 
thrive. But they are just one part of the equation. Again, there is no 
silver bullet solution to our Nation's energy challenges, and that is 
why we need to be willing to come together to hammer out a 
comprehensive strategy for moving forward. We cannot afford to keep our 
heads buried in the sand. We cannot afford to let yet another golden 
opportunity pass us by. Sadly, too many have already come and gone.
  Over the years, I believe there have been--especially in this last 
decade--several moments when we could have acted but didn't when we had 
the full support of the American people who had wanted a new direction 
in energy policy. The first was immediately after 9/11 when President 
Bush--if he had made a new energy policy one of the challenges to the 
country in addition to invading Afghanistan and combating terrorism, I 
believe we could have moved forward. But that didn't happen, and there 
is no need to dwell on it today.
  The second moment was before the arrival of the Presiding Officer in 
the Congress, and that was in the summer of 2008 when we did take 
action to raise gas mileage and energy-efficiency standards--something 
I like to call building a bridge to the next century--but we didn't 
make the kind of comprehensive progress on a comprehensive energy plan 
that we should have made.
  The third moment was when President Obama first came into office. At 
that time, I advocated for a clean energy standard that I believe could 
have passed in the first 6 months. It could have been combined with 
some of the other comprehensive things we were talking about. We had a 
bipartisan group going at the time, a group of 14 of us. But, instead, 
a decision was made to focus on cap and trade later, instead of 
starting with that clean energy standard and building from that.

  Those were missed opportunities, a chain of missed opportunities. But 
until we get serious about building a newer energy agenda for America, 
we are going to continue to struggle with the consequences which have 
created a vicious cycle of economic and environmental costs, not least 
of all those caused by climate change.
  Climate change, as the Presiding Officer knows, is not just about 
melting glaciers and rising ocean levels. Shifting global trends have 
the potential to wreak intense havoc on local economies, particularly 
those anchored in agricultural. The facts stand for themselves.
  In January 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said for 
the first time that public companies should add climate change to the 
list of possible financial or legal impacts that they actually disclose 
to investors.
  The Bureau of Economic Analysis, at the Department of Commerce, 
estimates that at least one-third of the U.S. gross domestic product is 
weather and climate sensitive, with a potential economic impact of $4 
trillion a year. Much of that impact would be wrung out of our farm 
communities and from States with large rural populations, such as my 
own. Any farmer will tell you a change in weather can mean the 
difference between a bumper crop and a complete disaster--regardless of 
how hard that farmer works. So it goes without saying that any kind of 
significant swing in climate--paired with increasingly unpredictable 
rainfall--could pose a problem to Americans who make their living off 
the land.
  In 2008, Minnesota's farms, forests, and ranches produced $18 billion 
in goods and exported close to one-third of that. This is a sector that 
is critically important to our economy, and we cannot afford for it to 
be jeopardized. We also cannot afford the rising costs of fire 
management, as forest fires have become increasingly intense in recent 
years.
  The current path is not sustainable. That is why I am on the floor, 
in the hope that we can spark a meaningful conversation, but, most 
specifically, that we look at extending those energy tax credits.
  I believe we can take a page from our State, the State of Minnesota.
  My home State is proof that policies promoting homegrown energy can 
also promote business growth and job creation. The unemployment rate in 
the State of Minnesota is 5.7 percent--well below the national 
average--and part of that is thanks to our energy policies. In fact, a 
recent report by the Pew Charitable Trust showed that in the last 
decade Minnesota jobs in this sector grew by 11.9 percent, compared to 
1.9 percent for jobs overall.
  As I travel around the State, I can see the progress that has been 
made. I think of places I have visited, such as Sebeka, MN, where a 
small telephone company felt their customers who were in extremely 
rural areas needed backup power supplies. So what did they do? They 
found a way to combine wind turbines and solar panels so their 
customers could actually purchase backup power. They did it themselves, 
and they sold it to their customers.
  It was very popular, and at one point an 80-year-old man came to see 
them, and he said: I would like to purchase more. I want to do my whole 
house in solar. The telephone company said: Sir, you can do that, but 
it will take you about 10 years to get your investment back, but it is 
going to be worth it. Do you mind if we ask how old you are? The man 
said: I am 80 years old but I want to go green.
  That is one of those true stories from the State of Minnesota.
  Then there is Pentair, a Minneapolis-based water solutions company 
that has donated a custom-designed Rain Water Recycling System to the 
new and great Target baseball field. That technology will capture, 
conserve, and reuse rainwater, saving the ballpark more than 2 million 
gallons of water each year.
  In one of General Mills' manufacturing plants, they have developed 
their own innovative way to reuse water--diverting it to the local 
municipal golf course to water the grass.
  These are just a few examples of Minnesota's commitment to energy 
innovation. There are countless stories out there, but it is not just a 
Minnesota story, it is an American story.
  I would note that the renewable energy standard in Minnesota--25 by 
25--is one of the most aggressive in the country--30 percent for Xcel--
and yet our unemployment rate is so much better than the rest of the 
country.
  The quest to develop clean, sustainable, homegrown energy is not 
specific to just one part of the country or, for that matter, just one 
political party. Our renewable energy standard was actually nearly 
unanimously adopted by the legislature--Democrats and Republicans--and 
signed into law by a Republican Governor, Governor Pawlenty. This is an 
issue I believe can and should unite us, and it is a way to address 
these concerns because it builds a coalition across a broad spectrum; 
that is, energy policy. It saves money. It is better for the 
environment. It is certainly better for our national security, 
producing our own homegrown energy.
  In the past, Democrats and Republicans have managed to come together 
to confront tough challenges--from the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, 
to keeping Social Security solvent in the 1980s, to welfare reform in 
the 1990s.
  But perhaps the most fitting example, in the context of combating 
climate change, is the Clean Air Act. As the Presiding Officer knows, 
that landmark bill took the first steps to address acid rain and 
expanded efforts to control toxic air pollutants.
  When the bill passed in the 1990s, it had strong bipartisan support 
from Democrats and Republicans alike. It is worth mentioning that all 
10 Members of the Minnesota delegation at the time, which included 5 
Democrats and 5 Republicans--that was our Federal delegation--supported 
the bill, including Republican Senator Dave Durenberger, who was among 
its chief authors and staunchest supporters.
  Since then, the Clean Air Act has helped prevent more than 18 million 
child respiratory illnesses and 300,000 premature deaths.
  Policies to protect our rivers, lakes, and streams have also had a 
positive impact on people's health.
  Coming from the ``Land of 10,000 Lakes,'' I have a unique 
appreciation for the importance of clean water. It is the resource that 
sustains our lakes and rivers, that provides critical habitat to 
countless fish and millions of

[[Page S489]]

migratory birds, that fuels our thriving outdoor economy.
  Hunting and fishing are more than just hobbies in our State, I say to 
the Presiding Officer. They are a way of life, and they are critically 
important to our economy.
  Every year, nearly 2 million people fish our lakes and our streams, 
and close to 700,000 people hunt our fields and forests.
  Nationwide, the hunting and fishing industry is valued at $95.5 
billion a year, and it brings in $14 billion in revenue. Clean water is 
a fundamental pillar in supporting this economic sector and protecting 
people against dangerous toxins such as mercury.
  Minnesota has passed some of the most stringent mercury rules in the 
country. In 2006, our State legislature passed laws requiring our 
largest powerplants to cut mercury emissions 90 percent by 2015. The 
Federal Government is finally catching up and will publish a 
requirement in coming days to make similar reductions by 2016.
  Yet despite everything we have done to combat mercury pollution, we 
are still grappling with its consequences. A recent analysis of 25 
years of data has found an unexpected rise in average mercury levels in 
northern pike and walleye from Minnesota lakes. After declining by 37 
percent from 1982 to 1992, average mercury concentrations in these fish 
began to increase in the mid 1990s.
  During the last decade of that period, 1996 to 2006, average mercury 
concentrations increased 15 percent. These numbers make one of the 
clearest possible arguments for supporting Federal protection, because 
we all have a stake in protecting the health of our fish and wildlife, 
and we cannot do that if we cannot keep dangerous toxins out of our air 
and water supply.
  This is important to our economy, but it is also important to 
maintaining a certain way of American life, a way of life that many of 
us grew up with that we ought to be able to pass on to future 
generations. I grew up in a family that valued the outdoors. I was 18 
years old before I took any vacation that did not involve a tent or a 
camper in one way or another.
  This did not just start with my parents. My grandpa was an avid 
hunter and fisherman. He worked 1,500 feet underground in the mines in 
Ely, MN. You can imagine why for him hunting was his way of life. This 
was his way out. When he got above ground from those mines, it was 
something he loved to do. I want future generations of Minnesotans to 
be able to enjoy these same pastimes. I want them to be able to fish in 
clean water, to hunt in abundant forests, and to camp out in our 
beautiful wilderness. But I also want them to know the same America we 
know, an America that is innovative, that is forward thinking, that is 
willing to come together and hammer out hard-won solutions to tough 
challenges.
  Nowhere is this more important than our quest to move America forward 
through smarter energy and environmental policies. I cannot help but 
think, this is our generation's version of the space race and energy 
race. But the finish line will not be Neil Armstrong placing a flag on 
the Moon. It will be building the next generation of energy-efficient 
windows, and doing it in northern Minnesota instead of in China, or an 
electric car battery factory in Memphis, TN, instead of Mumbai, India, 
or a wind turbine manufacturer in San Jose, CA, instead of Sao Paulo, 
Brazil.
  This is my vision for an energy America that is energy independent, a 
stronger, more innovative America. I know you all want to same thing. 
That is why I am here on the floor today, because I know we cannot 
continue to get by with piecemeal energy policy. We cannot play red 
light-green light with our tax incentives as we are doing this year, 
and that is why we have to put them in place again.
  What we need now is a comprehensive national blueprint for energy 
policy, a solution that will serve the integrity of our air, of our 
water and natural resources, that gives businesses the incentives to 
research and develop new sources of energy that invest in the next 
generation of American innovation.
  That is our challenge. It is not going to happen overnight, but I 
believe we will get it done. We have before; we will do it again. One 
way to start is to make sure we extend these energy tax credits.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.

                          ____________________