it's fairly clear that the need for infrastructure improvement far impedes what currently has and what we need to be able to do is to figure out and leverage. whoeks to ask whether or not we could partner. if we could identify projects at usda, would they potentially. we clearly need to look for ways and access large sums of men that investments. certainly infrastructure at the local level. state level is one solid stable investment that could be made. with a relatively reasonable return.

given the current circumstance. as it relates to the chances of that happening, you though, i'd like to be optimistic. and my hope is that at some point in time folks in congress understand the president has proposed at one, he has suggested with the american jobs act that we create a first start at this. we haven't been able to get that done through congress yet, but we're going to continue to work on it. because the focus of this president and his administration is on jobs. and it's obviously a great job creator. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. secretary. i think the final question will come from frank county. >> i've got to go. >> you've got to go? sorry, frank. you almost got there. you got very close. >> thank you, mr. secretary. for taking yet another moment to speak. i'm fascinated and have been watching closely, all the work

that's been done and your thought about local foods as a follow-up to the question a moment ago. and also looking at our state in iowa and knowing that we don't raise a lot of -- well, as you pointed out, soybeans or corn that people actually eat. we shove it through something else, and it becomes something else. do we have a model that you're thinking of in cooperation with other agencies and departments where we shrink that model from where our food sources come from? i mean, iowa, i think most people would say the majority of our food comes from over 1,500 miles away. i've been so -- i am astounded and discovering that not only

s one apple counts. i kicked it. i'm trying to talk about energy and food and fuel and shipping and how we move goods and services around. what are we doing, and are you looking at that model, and do you have any statistics that says that number from 15 or we're able to shrink it 20% or 40% to maybe only 900 miles away or something? how are you interesting and looking at those issues? >> we are very interested in a recent trend taking place in agriculture which is that individuals in their 20s, late 20s, early 30s this this country

have become more interested in getting back into farming. we're seeing a fairly significant trend of young people wanting to get into farming. and the reality is that farming today is highly capital intensive if you're looking at large-scale production agriculture, commercial-sized operations. and so many opportunities actually are in smaller-scale operations. so within thing that the council of mayors could do is perhaps for the first time extend your interest in the farm bill to not just the nutrition assistance portion of it which is important to your constituents, but also to this issue because congress is about to engage in the 2012 farm bill. we'll have to address this issue of beginning farmers and how we can encourage people to get in the business of farming because the overall age of farmers in the country is rapidly aging.

secondly, there is a growing interest in direct-to-consumer sales. we're seeing a significant increase in the amount of activity in this space to the point where it's now a multiple billion-dollar industry. and it's, in my view, a good compliment to production and commercial-sized scale agriculture. it complements it. and so, you know, we want to continue to work to create new market opportunities, whether it's increasing farmers' markets, whether it's actually encouraging schools to enter into contracts. there's a good operation in new mexico which i'll get you information on which is a pretty good food hub which basically collects food from local producers. you'd be surprised. there's probably quite a bit of activity in the state of iowa that's perhaps just not coordinated. i know the secretary is working

on this, that you could aggregate substantial amounts and meet some of them. i think there's more in your space than you would imagine. let me just close with one other observation. the farmers, ranchers and producers of this country with due were taken for granted and not given a token of appreciation which they deserved. for the following three reasons. one, 86% of what we consume in this country is grown and raised in this country. 86%. which means that we are, for all intents and purposes, a food secure nation which we need to feed our people. do not take that fact for granted because that is not true in most of the major countries. around the world. they are dependent on importing

their food. secondly, when your constituents walk out of your local grocery store, they walk out than most people in the developed world. we spend less than 10% of our paychecks. in most countries, it's 15 to 25% which means that all of your citizens have opportunities to buy nicer cars or live in a nicer house or take a vacation and have more flexibility than ninl anyone else in the world. and the third piece of this which is often not recognized. and i know i'm speaking to larger city mayors. but rural represent, so not only do these fine people provide food for your families, they're

sometimes taken for granted in this country. so it's a place that is not fully appreciated, fully recognized, and it's important that mayors of communityies and rural america does matter and that your cities are dependent on what's happening in rural america. you're going to see more of your fuel produced there. you're going to see more of your energy produced there. you're going to see economic opportunity. located in your cities providing the feedstock for job students and a new person matter. mayor, i hope i didn't overstay. >> no. as a matter of fact, i want to ask you something. i want -- if it hasn't occurred

by the summer, i'm thinking we could have a resolution before the energy committee because this impacts energy, that might push us in the right direction. there is language that he needs in a bill that we could all get behind, we've done this before. and this might actually be something that we can get done. sometimes it's difficult to come to washington and ask for money because everybody's, you know, very tight. you know, he's offering us something. that can help a lot of communities across this country and help the country as a whole. so frank, if you're willing to do that, you know, you're very articulate. and you understand this issue well. and if you can track it, i know staff will work with you. and maybe we can get something done along the lines that he mentioned. i secretary. and do you have any idea, mr. secretary, when the bill might roll out? >> well, i just asked the

congressman sitting next to me when that would be. and honestly, there will be conversations and discussions the first part of this year about it. and i think now is a very good time to get engaged. in fact, it would make sense for a conference on mayors to perhaps visit with the house and and basically provide your input. jennifer, where you are? jennifer is our intergovernmental affairs person, and she's the key per n person. and we will coordinate with her and you. >> and i'll be in your office next week. hopefully you will. we've got an urban forestry meeting. >> okay. >> you're not going to get away. >> he also knows where i live. >> he knows where you live.

that's why i appointed him. thank you very much, mr. secretary. i now am going to turn things over to mayor brian waller from piscataway, new jersey, because he is the person responsible for our next special guest that he's going to introduce and give a proper introduction to. >> thank you, mayor. it gives me a grit honor and pleasure on behalf of the residents of the sixth congressional district and also my colleague, tony, from edison who's here at the dais to introduce the congressman who represents our two towns. and congressman pallone served on the energy committee, correct? and congressman pallone has been a leader and also on energy

issues and many of the towns crossed the dais were able to receive grants for energy assistance and direct block grants. with that, i'd like to thank the congressman for spending some time down here with the united states conference of mayors. and with that, we'ring about to get you to mike over here. >> thank you, mayor. i won't take up a lot of your time because i think the time allotted for this panel, i guess, is probably near the end. and i want to thank both waller and my mayor from -- for being here. i saw if -- i know that nobody expected me to talk about agriculture. and i want planning on it, but i couldn't help it, lirich listen

the -- georgia is the garden state. people don't think of us that way, but we're also the dense cultural production and land over the years because of housing that's gobbles it up and the development that's gobbles. the whole concept of jersey fresh, which has been pronoted in our state and the idea of trying to have local farmers produce things at small farm markets that exist in a lot of our cities and we can't get enough of it. in fact, for many of the urban areas, it's not just an issue of dietary point of view. as you know, our first lady has been concerned about obesity. part of the issue is trying to get fresh prukts and the urban

areas. so in a lot of urban areas, we have a farmers' thing. i don't even have a single farm in my zriblgt that i'm aware of, when is not only the state university but the new jersey. we've done a lot to promote jersey fresh and it's very popular. the too the highest population of asian-indians and in my con -- it's interesting in increasing its gross national product and joining the more developed countries now is because they managed over the last 20 or 30 years to be food

sufficient. i mean, people don't realize, people still think of the yavsh i ing. the bottom line, india is food sufficient. they actually export china to products. and by china because their cultur cultural. it's so when he talks about the importance of agriculture and the fact that 87% of what we consume is american grown, i mean, that's a very important part of the economy and job growth and, you know, the whole -- i call it making it in america. i think we think more of manufacturing. it also involves your agricultural sector as well. that's not what i was here to talk about. i just couldn't help it with the garden state.

>> four congressmen. what i wanted to -- i just wanted to briefly say, with regard to the issue of renewables. ivan unabashed supporter of renewables. so it's very hard for me to not be excited and i've asked you to help us, i really regret the fact, larly in the last few months. so it's soul power or hydra p power. i mean for the most part in new jersey, in a lot of renewable portfolio standards, a certain percentage of your energy has to be produced from renewables. and i regret the fact that, you know, we have the tax credit actually expire on december 31st

for solar, which i think was extremely unfortunate because you need these incentives. and of course when we tried to pass a renewable portfolio standard on the federal level, i think it was 20% by 2020. that was part of our -- i don't even dare mention the name. it was part of the climate change back in 2009 when democrats were in the majority. of course that bill -- you know, the american clean energy act essentially -- it never got passed because of the opposition. you know, i'm not going to sit here and try to make you advocates for addressing climate change, although i'd love to do that. i think it's important for all of you to present and why are renewables important? it's not just a question of whether you believe or don't believe in global climate change

or you're concerned about the environment. it's also a national security issue. it's a jobs issue. i mean, from a national security point of view, we cannot continue to rely on imported oil and energy sources from the mideast. it's not reliable. you know -- i'm sure you're lisping to the media in the last few weeks. we've seen iran threaten to. we're relying on energy sources particularly from the mideast from countries that are not our friends, countries that are not reliable. at any point, these supplies could be cut off. we have to look at renewables, even if you don't care about the environment, from a national security point of view. and it also is herely a jobs

issue. in my state of new jersey, you know, we continue to have the incentives. and the governor, you know, i don't usually praise him. he's a republican. he's not one of my favorite people by any means. you can ask some of my colleagues and they'll tell you that. the bottom line, which is a democratic legislature, they need to try to not only towards rebut also to make the wind turbines, make the solar panels. and unfortunately china and other countries but i stress china which has actually used subsidies to encourage the production and tried to corner the market in ways that, you know, most of us consider our trade violations. but it's our own fault at the

federal level. not only in terms of incentivizing the use but also making the things. they're good jojobs. china is not investing and subsidizing in wind tunnels out of the goodness of their heart. they could but yet they realize that these are jobs that can be created. and the public is supportive of it. i mean, you know, i live -- most of my district, it keeps changing, but it still has a lot of areas that are along the coast, along the atlantic, along the raritan bay. you may see to, most people don't realize it unless you're from the state. most people think you don't want

offshore wind because it's going to affect the tourism industry. just the opposite. every poll i've ever seen shows the opposite. and i've been a strong advocate. i've not received any opposition -- i shouldn't say any -- but any significant opposition to that. and polling shows overwhelmingly that people are even willing to pay more. that they have to pay a couple dollars more. they're willing to do that because they understand from a j job, from an environmental point of view, that renewables are the way to go. brian asked me to come. in brian's case in piscataway, he got one of these energy block grants, and he installed the panels. and i went there with senator menendez, i don't know, a year

ago, whenever it was. and it was just wonderful to see. you know, it saves on money in the long run. and in the case of mayor and edison, you remember when we went to that plant -- what was it, avadon? refrigeration facility, right? >> and it is the largest rooftop solar panel in the nation. 1700 acres, i think it is. >> it's incredible. it is so -- when we went -- >> we climbed up on the roof. >> we went on top of the roof. you literally looked and you couldn't see the horizon. >> how many kilowatts? >> i think i have it here somewhere. i have it here. i wasn't going to mention it, but it says it's a 4.6 expect to reduce emissions by 3,750 tons

annually and would be equivalent to planting 3.5 million trees or taking nearly 1,000 suvs off the road. now, i think they told us within a few years they had to resew it. it wasn't the largest because someone was building another one somewhere else. it was unbelievable. >> just as an aside, they received an energy grant and we have a company that's putting solar panels on our municipal complex as well. >> we have these climate awards. you ought to enter your city, you know, come in june, we give out climate initiative awards. i mean, all of us ought to enter where we have got projects. that sounds like a wonderful project. >> i'm not going to continue on. the only thing i wanted to leave you with, you know, i just regret -- and i'm trying not to be partisan here, mayor, believe me, i'm trying -- i just regret the fact that, you know, we

haven't been able to make enough progress on the federal level. and i also feel that we're running out of time. we didn't renew the tax credits. we didn't move forward with the renewable portfolio standard. and the problem is, this is all now, you know, entwined and the whole issue of global climate change and whether it's real or not. and the only thing i would say is, you know, if you can't, you know, look at it from that perspective because of your own constituency, in new jersey we can because people understand on a bipartisan basis that, you know, that we have to address the environmental concerns and global climate change. we had, what was it, my staff person tooley wright, he said last night you walked your dog. i wasn't in washington yesterday. last night you walked your dog at 11:00 p.m., it was 60 degrees. january 17th. i mean, to me, the notion that this isn't real is crazy. you can put that all aside and just talk about the jobs and the

national security concerns and all the other things and not even talk about, you know, climate change or any of that if you don't want to. we need your help, you know, to talk to your representatives about this because we are definitely moving backward, not forward at this time. i've got to be honest with you. i'll leave it at that. thank you. >> thank you very much, congressman. questions, i believe mayor piercy has a question. >> we're running out of time, and i just -- you'll forgive me, mr. secretary and chair, i was going to talk about tarsands, but we're running out of time. i didn't want to let this meeting go without talking about what i consider to be a victory for clean energy and that is a bunch of us, about 103 mayors had signed a letter to the president asking him not to permit the tarsands line. and although the u.s. conference of mayors hasn't taken a

position, they did do a resolution back in 2008, asking for it to be examined more carefully. and i just heard that the president today is going to make an announcement that he's not going to allow the permit for the tarstands line. so i consider that a victory for clean energy. i didn't want this meeting to go by without saying that. thank you to everybody who worked on that and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on it for a moment. >> thank you. do we have other comments or questions from the congressmen? anything from california? yes, please. >> thank you, mr. chair. congressman, what do you think the prospects are of renewing the tax credits? they're finally getting to an rps standard. it appears that most of the states, as you mentioned, have already gone down that route.

most of the local communities have gone down that route and recognized it. it seems there's a huge disconnect between what's happening locally on the ground and then here in washington, d.c. >> i hate to be so pessimistic, but i just think this has been totally entwined now and the whole issue about global climate change and to the extent that they're members of, you know, my colleagues and the presidential candidates as well who, you know, deny this or feel that this is somehow related to the global climate change issue, you know, from an eye idealogical perspective. i just don't see it, unfortunately. >> thank you. >> let me just ask one question, if i may, congressman. and then after that, i think we have a representative here from

u.s. d.o.e. that will ask to speak. my question goes to the green block grants. we passed those a few years ago, it went great. i understand we can't get them now, but is there anything you could rally around, especially this being an election year where we could possibly get some traction on something. >> again, i sound like a broken record, but i think if there was some way to separate the whole issue of renewables and grown energy from the global climate change debate, in other words, start talking about in terms of jo jobs, in terms of national security, stay away from the, you know, global climate change environmental issue. if you could somehow, you know, accomplish that, then i think we could start moving in the right direction. it's got to get away from that because that's become this ideological battle now that makes it impossible to move forward. >> well, let me, on behalf of

the u.s. council of mayors and the energy committee thank you for coming out. i don't know where brian -- [ applause ] i don't know where brian went. you can give him a hard time. he invites you, and there he's coming back right now. we were just saying good-bye to the congressmen, mayor. and we are noting that mayor, you had a question or comment before he leaves. >> i asked all the questions offline. >> all right. you got it. well, thank you very much. and now i'm going to direct our attention to a gentleman that has been waiting patiently. but he knows to wait when there's a congressman or when there's a secretary of a department because currently you're an undersecretary, i believe.