[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9586-9587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1245
                               EARTH DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, in 2 days we will once again celebrate Earth 
Day, and this year's theme is a call to action on climate change.
  Since the last Earth Day in 2006, a number of important events have 
taken place that have dramatically raised awareness on the important 
issue of climate change. Two groundbreaking reports left no doubt that 
human beings are responsible for global warming.
  My home State of California passed landmark legislation to regulate 
greenhouse gas emissions. A group of major businesses and leading 
climate and environmental groups joined forces for the first time to 
launch the Climate Action Partnership and lobby for Federal regulations 
of greenhouse gases.
  Al Gore won an Oscar for his powerful documentary on global warming, 
``An Inconvenient Truth.''
  The Department of the Interior proposed listing the polar bear as 
threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to disappearing sea 
ice.
  The Supreme Court ruled in a landmark case that the Environmental 
Protection Agency has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide 
emissions as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
  The United Nations Security Council had its first meeting on the 
issue of climate change as an urgent matter of international peace and 
security.
  These events make the facts about climate change very clear. I am 
proud to say for the first time in a long time, this year's Earth Day 
finally holds the promise of real action on climate change, thanks to 
the election of a Democratic Congress last November.

[[Page 9587]]

  Already, under the leadership of our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, the House 
of Representatives has laid out a bold agenda to combat global warming 
and move America towards energy independence. For the first time, the 
House has created a Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global 
Warming to help develop policy recommendations on this important issue.
  As a part of our 100-hour agenda, the House also passed H.R. 6, the 
Clean Energy Act of 2007, repealing the $14 billion in taxpayer 
subsidies to profit-soaked oil companies. Instead of forcing our 
constituents to pay oil companies twice, once at the pump and again 
with their taxes, we shifted these funds to support the development of 
clean alternative energy and improved energy efficiency.
  We also passed a budget last month that makes substantial investments 
in research and development of new cutting-edge renewable energy 
technologies which will also fund the rapid deployment of these 
technologies.
  Because we are also committed to leading by example, our leadership 
has called upon the chief administrative officer of this House to 
develop and implement a ``Green the Capitol'' initiative. This 
initiative will reduce our energy consumption and develop sustainable 
practices for the United States Capitol and congressional office 
buildings.
  These initiatives are just the first step. Later this year, the House 
will also consider an innovation agenda that emphasizes the importance 
of developing alternative energy technologies and ensures that America 
continues to be a world leader in the green economy of the 21st 
century; also, a targeted energy package focusing on promoting energy 
alternatives and addressing global warming that will take another 
significant step forward in securing our energy independence; and a 
major farm bill that will promote American-made biofuels as well as 
other renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation programs.
  We will also continue to develop legislation to regulate greenhouse 
gases and address some of the difficult challenges in stopping global 
climate change.
  While the House moves forward with this agenda, we must also 
recognize that there is a substantial amount of activity that is 
already going on locally in our communities to combat climate change.
  In many ways, in the Bay Area, in my district in California, we 
represent the hub of the environmental movement. Research is ongoing 
into alternative and renewable energy at the University of California, 
Berkeley, one of the premier public universities in our country. We 
hold the promise of a cleaner and brighter future for our children.
  Bay Area businesses in my district have also taken the lead in 
greening their activities to reduce waste, improving energy efficiency, 
and save water, minimizing the impact on our environment.
  Innovative programs funded in part through the city of Oakland are 
also training youth in my district about the importance of 
environmental stewardship and are providing them with new job 
opportunities and new career paths.
  Community-based organizations in my district have also taken the lead 
in advocating for environmental justice and equity for all of our 
constituents. Together, our community is at the forefront of a robust 
environmental movement that is quite literally changing the world for 
the better.
  On this Earth Day, let us celebrate all of this local ingenuity, as 
well as what we are doing in the House of Representatives from 
participating in local cleanups to just shopping at our local farmers' 
markets.

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