[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16493]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            ENERGY BILL FINE PRINT BETRAYS LAUDABLE PURPOSE

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, this energy bill's fine print betrays its 
laudable purpose. The real cap is on the public interest, and the trade 
is from the public to polluters. It is too weak to spur new 
technologies and green jobs.
  An Administration analysis shows that doing nothing actually results 
in more new renewable energy electricity generation capacity than 
approving this bill.
  Vital authority for the EPA is stripped, but two billion additional 
tons of pollution are authorized every year forever. Residential 
consumer protection is incredibly entrusted to the mercy of utility 
companies. Exempting 100 new coal plants and paying billions to Old 
King Coal does indeed leave him ``a merry old soul.''
  This bill is 85 percent different from what President Obama proposed 
just a few months ago. No wonder that his Budget Director called this 
type of legislation ``the largest corporate welfare program . . . in 
the history of the United States.''
  Until greatly improved, until families share in the billions this 
bill grants powerful lobbies, I cannot support it.

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