natural gas. because this bill discriminates against these energy sources, ill. it will be hit especially hard. gas prices could raise by 77 cents a gallon, and diesel by 88 cents a gallon. this is part of an entirely arbitrary panel on oil and gas that has been passed straight on to the consumer. h.r. 2454 does little to inside production, and what little it does is grossly inadequate considering the overall goal of this bill. . there is no framework for an international agreement for climate change in this bill. in the absence of the framework and in agreement from developing nations, my district can count on losing thousands of jobs to countries like india and china if this legislation is enacted. mr. speaker, i oppose this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. i yield back. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

the gentlelady yields back the action on climate change is a policy and indeed moral imperative. prompt action is a vital part of our legacy to the nation. as we act, we can and must use these intensive industries and make sure they are not placed at a -- at a disadvantage. after discussants between the energy and commerce and ways and means committee, and the administration, we involve provisions that involve the president and congress in taking action, no more than necessary to ensure that this important legislation is trade mitchell

for energy intensive industries. we want to see a meaningful international agreement. if we are unable to do so, through international agreement. this legislation will avoid carbon leakage in the trade sensitive industries. there are some critics, and we may hear from them today, who claim that these changes make the bill subject to challenges. they are wrong. just today, the world trade organization and the u.n. environment program issued a report that confirms that wto rules do not trump environmental requirements. i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. >> under his energy plan,

electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. i give him credit. he is be honest with the american people. today, the nation's unemployment level is fast approaching 10%. that means one out of every 10 americans will soon be without a job and a paycheck to provide for themselves and their families. this national energy tax will drive up the taxes. when utility, which is even supporting this legislation has already applied to state regulators to raise their electricity rates in anticipation of the costs to comply with this national energy tax. while the speaker wants to make -- pay more in energy taxes, they will not impose those hardships on their people. this should not surprise us. as our mothers used ask, if everyone else jump off a bridge, would you? neither will china or india. they recognize that this is equal to jumping off an economic

cliff. what does a yes vote mean? it means that more jobs moved to china and india and fewer americans have jobs and there is no reduction in global greenhouse gases. because this bill was rushed to the floor and because the american people were not given a chance to review it, because their representatives were not given a chance to improve it, this bill contains numerous flaws. of the border measures are an area open to our trading partners to retaliate against our goods and our workers. how does this help our economy? how does this help families? how does this help our environment? it does not. i know that promises have been made that your constituents will not be harmed by this bill and that it contains consumer protections. two -- what are those protections? who is protected? not families.

somewhere, someone made the decision to eliminate the tax credits designed to help families pay for these high energy prices. here is the plain and simple facts. under the national image attacks, they will pay higher costs and receive no help in offsetting those costs. three out of every four americans will pay more. this is bad for our economy and bad for families that are struggling to make ends meet and it will do nothing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. it is all pain and no gain. irate urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill. >> the gentleman from new york?

>> to win the republican party becomes the protector of the poor, it is a day that i have been waiting for. i would like to yield two minutes. >> the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> i think the chairman and mr. speaker. it has been an interesting day, listening to the claims that have emanated from the other side of the aisle. claims about honesty. claims about being forthright. we have the president of the previous administration speak about our addiction to oil and everybody put their head in the sand and did nothing as we continued to send an export american dollars overseas. we send american taxpayer dollars overseas. we send them to russia and saudi arabia and to libya and

venezuela, all the people that you have chimed in about today. that is the real tax that we are paying because of our increasing addiction and our need to stand up and rid ourselves of dependency on foreign oil. the challenge faces us once again. 30 years ago, we did not have the courage to make the stand for the patriotic fire to stop this addiction 50 boone pickens can talk about this awful addiction and as thomas friedman said, if the american policy of the previous administration is to leave no money behind and to find our funds that we pay with american taxpayers going to fund our enemies efforts against our own troops and our efforts against terrorism, that is what this is about in the final analysis.

it is about this great country of ours and making a stand for what we believe in. standing up for american dominance and superiority. yes, and the chinese and indian nations are competing and we want to compete against them. we have better technology. we just have to make the investment, here and not in saudi arabia and libya and venezuela and russia. that is the policies of previous administrations. that is where a mess in today. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan? >> i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from california. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> not only is this legislation not the right thing, this legislation is what -- one of the most overreaching, damaging pieces of legislation that has ever come to this house of

representatives. this national energy tax is a job killer and will cost the american families over $3,000 per year. it will do very little to affect global temperatures. rule america, low and middle income families will suffer the most under this new tax. mr. speaker, we all want to protect our environment, but we should accomplish that for innovation and advancement, not by government micromanagement that undercuts america's ability to compete globally. i urge all members to protect the american economy and livelihoods of millions of american families and say no to this gigantic national energy tax. i yield back. >> the gentleman from new york? >> i would like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, chairman neil.

>> the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> i want to commend mr. rangel, who has attempted to forge a consensus on this legislation. the bottom line to this legislation is that it will make american less dependent on foreign oil. despite protests from our friends on the other side, there is an element on the other side that rejects the concept of climate change and global warming. it is very difficult to find middle ground there as a side that simply projects the size of our times. a part of our job in government is to make some difficult decisions and some very tough choices. this climate change bill makes those tough choices for our future and our children's future. it is in the interest of america, but it is also in the interest of the world.

america leads the way. this is an opportunity for us to reclaim that leadership. this legislation will lead our consumers, our businesses and communities towards smaller, cleaner and more efficient energy use. it will not be alone. strong trade enforcement mechanisms mean that it will not be disadvantaged by importers that skirt the rules. i would be remiss if i did not mention this. for the previous eight years, the administration rejected the idea of global warming. the other side was given to -- giving talking points but would spend the argument that it presented a peril to our times. you would be hard pressed to find scientists anywhere across this low -- this globe that

would have a difficulty defining the problem. it is difficult to offer a solution. this legislation offers a solution. >> the gentleman's time is expired. >> mr. speaker, i yield one minute to mr. johnson of texas. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as a clean energy advocate, i believe we should be good stewards of the earth and its resources. we are in the midst of along recession but the democrats want to impose a massive energy tax on american families and businesses, costing every american family heavily. americans are sick and tired of democrats spending too much, taxing too much and borrowing too much. with the cost at the pump rising 65 cents, and

unemployment close to 10%, they would kill 2.5 million jobs a year. my district would lose jobs every year. congressman john dingell said it best when he said that no one in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax and it is a great bi one. >-- and dave -- it is a great big one. >> i would like to yield one minute to an advocate of prevention of global warming. it is my honor to yield one minute to him. >> i appreciate the general and courtesy. >> i have had the privilege of working with the speaker select committee of global warming. today, we have a major opportunity to rebuild and renew america while protecting the planet.

i want to thank the ways and means committee for working with me to harness billions of dollars over the life of this bill, to reduce carbon footprint, and things that will make a difference for a country that emit more carbon with its transportation than china, india and europe combined. we have an opportunity to protect the planet, but unless you're prepared to lead, china and india will continue to pollute more and more. this is the first step in this leadership and i urge the courage to vote yes on this legislation today. i yield back. >> mr. speaker, i yield of two minutes to the distinguished member of the ways and means committee. >> i thank the chairman for yielding.

i want to ask unanimous consent to submit a statement for the record, but i will not read that statement. i want to respond to the gentleman that said we need honesty in this discussion. the gentleman from illinois said that there is zero peer review to articles on by scientists that disagree. that will come to you -- as a surprise to some. he is the world's foremost specialist on sea levels. he has written many. articles -- she has written many articles. he is one of the foremost scientists. fred singer is responsible for

leading the charge to get all of our weather satellites in the year from northern virginia and the five authors who wrote in their scientific reports that there is no evidence that humans are causing any of this. of those five sentences were removed by a bureaucrat they replaced it with one sentence that said that it is clear that humans are the cause. a court action asked him why he removed of that. he said it was from the immense pressure from the top of the united states government. they want to join with galileo and einstein. einstein question newtons 200 years of science and he was sent and -- a letter by a 100 of the

most important scientists and the world who challenged him on his questioning of that science and he showed a letter to his friend danny said that you think one of them might produce facts. that is what we want is a fact. >> mark this day, june 26, 2009. we have an opportunity to serve in a historic congress. we have an opportunity to take action that will make a major difference in the security and independence and environment of our globe as well as our country. we have been given the privilege by our fellow citizens to serve at a time of historic change. in this past presidential campaign, there were three major candidates. you could perhaps name more, but

there were two at the end. the campaign as senator mccain and senator barack obama had something in common. they were both for comprehensive capt. trade legislation. the candidate you supported and can that i supported. -- and canada that i supported. -- intended it that i supported. -- and a candidate that i supported. this is a transformative moment. this is a moment to build a clean energy future for our country. this is a moment to create jobs in america. this is a moment to take on, at

long last, a defining challenge of our time, global warming. i know my colleagues can seize this moment. if they only will. a manhattan project was talked about. i think that the sentiments expressed are good ones. the objectives are good ones. america voted for action. america voted to make a difference, not to make a point. america voted for the change that we could believe then. that is what this bill represents. i know we could look back on an america that is independent on foreign oil. there has been much talk about taxes.

a traffic light, almost every debate that we have on this floor devolves into raising taxes. my fellow americans know about having their expenses raised. the foreign potentates hold us hostage because they provide us so much of our energy and they gave as a new tax at the gas pump and every american remembers it. why? because we have not taken the action necessary to become energy independent. our gasoline prices at the pump, for my computers that drive an hour or an hour and a half to get to work paid an additional $2.50 per gallon in tax imposed by those from abroad. this bill is about making sure

that foreign interests cannot raise the expenses of our families. this bill is about making sure that we in america provide our energy. efficient energy, clean energy. energy that will not bring our global to a heating process that will drown out what the navy calls the liberals were most of our people live. my colleagues, this bill, the american clean energy and security act is a true turning point. this is one of the historic actions we will take, not just in this congress, but as members of congress for however long a tenure we may have.

it is a complex bill. because we face a complex problem. we can sum up the outcome simply. new american jobs, less -- how does this bill accomplish those goals? among its most important provisions are a requirement that utilities meet 20% of a lecture demand through renewable sources and energy efficiency by 2020. i am old enough to remember the lines of the 1970's when he waited in line for an hour or two or 39 to put gasoline in your car so you could get your child to school and get to work and pick up your child from child care. america should have acted, but we did not.

today, we're going to act. a significant new investments in rubles, carbon capture and sequestration, and electric vehicles and cutting edge energy research, all of that is in this bill to take action. a change that america can believe in. this bill also creates a clean energy bank to fund promising energy projects across america. investment in america's ingenuities. that is what this bill was about. that is why is so important to america. it invests in high-tech transmission lines to build the essential foundation for a more efficient in grid. that is essential if the energy we produce can be delivered to those who need it in businesses

and homes. new transmission lines comprised of superconducting cable and other the fish in waters will carry more power within existing rights of way with less land use and the result will be more secure environmentally friendly grid. that is what this grid does. i worked with the chairman to insure that those transmission provisions were included because they are such an important part of a more cost-effective, energy-efficient future that our country needs. of course, the bill also includes the reduction of our carbon emissions by 17% by 2020. someone like to do more. some would like to do less. that is the legislative process. it has compromised. -- it has been compromised. that is what our responsibility is.

more than 80% of the reduction by 2050. this was so effective in combating acid rain in the 1990's. global warming threatens everyone of us. there was disagreement on that for a long period of time. last year, president bush decided that global warming was, in fact, a challenge that must be met. this is not a partisan issue, it is the issue in which we have gain consensus. global warming affects everyone of us. to those who complained about the cost of the bill, we are all paying the cost of carbon emissions already. certainly, as i pointed out earlier, we are paying the cost

of being hostage to those abroad who provide our energy. the longer that we wait to act, the more we will pay, year after year after year. if we take action now, we can get jobs, growth, clean energy and energy independence for less than the price of a postage stamp a day for each of us. with this bill, the united states will be able to argue persuasively and credibly for global action on a challenge that knows no borders. we understand that if the chinese do not act, or the indians do not act, the air that they belch will soon come to this continent and our children and families will be at risk. this is a global problem, but america is the leader. america must lead. america must set the example.

this bill does exactly that. at the same time, action on global warming will spend a powerful job-creating signal to the private sector, creating jobs, jobs, jobs. a business coalition has argued that the way we produce and use energy must fundamentally change both nationally and globally and that this coming change represents an excellent opportunity for growth. that is why and other coalition of 19 businesses wrote to president barack obama that this would drive investment into cost-saving, energy-saving

technologies. it would create the next wave of jobs in the new energy economy and would provide predictability that we need to plan for future business success. those are not my words. those are the words of leaders in the corporate community in america who know something about innovation, enterprise and free markets. it has long been understood that acting on global warming is a moral necessity as well as an intellectual necessity. more and more of us are realizing that it makes powerful, economic sense as well. madam speaker, let me, as an aside, thank you for your presiding, at this time, on this historic bill and for presiding over so much legislation on such a fair -- in such a fair and effective fashion. of this house will miss your

service, but the country will enjoy your continued service. i think you, madam speaker. -- i thank you, madam speaker. [applause] a future of clean energy is well worth the price. a republican governor said that the cost of failure far exceeds the price of progress. the cost of failure for the past decades have cost this country. progress will be far less expensive than failure. my children, my grandchildren, and the generations to come will be either the beneficiaries of our stewardship