[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ENERGY INDEPENDENCE THROUGH FUEL CELLS

  (Mrs. BIGGERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to highlight the 
promise and the potential of fuel cells in hydrogen to help us gain 
greater energy independence in a way that is safe, clean and renewable.
  Often called minipower plants, fuel cells could hold the key to 
energy independence for America. In an article entitled ``Squeaky 
Clean,'' the magazine The Economist referred to fuel cells as the next 
big thing, and the most promising fuel cells operate on hydrogen, which 
the magazine Physics Today referred to as the fuel of the future.
  We know their potential. Zero emissions. Water and heat are the only 
by-products, and when both heat and electricity are used, fuel cells 
can obtain more than 80 percent efficiency.
  Researchers at our national science labs, corporations, universities 
and small businesses are working hard to help us realize the potential 
of fuel cells.
  America has the ingenuity and the expertise to meet our future energy 
demands, and fuel cells can help us to do so in an environmentally 
responsible way that sets a standard for the world.

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