them but to utilize them as efficiently as we possibly can. i remember during the campaign of 2008, there was the whole issue of hearing rush limbaugh that a tire gauge could be of any valuable at all. we will fight like dogs and cats over this postage stamp of oil and gas in alaska, the same of which which can be con served that the people could use the tire gauges, that is a fundamental irony. we are going to continue to use oil and gas and continue to use coal. we should use those nonrenewable resources as conservatively as we possibly can. tonchingtonching i would -- mr. tonko: i would go back to an earlier statement. at the same time, we need to bear in mind, this is the way we draw attention to this nation and her intellectual capacity, where we become the exporter of energy thinking, ideas, innovation. this is the strengthening of the economy, as women invest in this economy in the american know-how, we become stronger as we develop the solutions for the air we breathe, water we drink and the solar that we utilize for our own opportunit

a lot of utilities and non utility industrial in matters have delayed making their investments in new technology until they know what the rules are. as soon as we write these rules and placed a price on carbon dioxide emissions, that pent up investment that has not been made now for many years, awaiting clearer definition of rules, is going to be unleashed. that is going to create jobs. that will create a spurt of economic activity in the short term. i will take this opportunity to say that in the longer-term, i think we have yet a second wave of investment as venture capital funds have dollars flow into the next generation of low carbon dioxide in bidding technologies. this is where president obama says that we're going to have been net creation of millions of jobs and this will be the next technological innovation and technology boom in our u.s. economy. i think that is largely true. the united states is known for innovation. we are the best in the world when it comes to developing new technology. we use it here, we exported abroad. that is exactly what will happen with low carbon d

he is a leader within the utility industry and public policy area. thank you once again for being here. whenever you are ready, please begin. >> mr. chairman, members of the committee, thank you -- islamic could you move the microphone closer? >> thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to testify. p.s. eg dustin its electricity and natural gas to more than 2 million customers in new jersey and owns and operates electric generating capacity in the northeast and mid-atlantic and texas. pscg has supported policies to promote renewable generation. we are planning major investments in solar, offshore wind generation, and energy storage technology that will make renewable energy more competitive. the question today is not whether we should vigorously promote renewable generation but how. specifically, how should we use transmission policy to promote renewable generation at the lowest possible cost. this would include not just federal citing authority but decisions about transmission planning and cost allocations at a fundamental to determi

that is what he equates the overall magic for the utility. if you are having to pay 30% more to borrow money because you do not have a loan guarantee, you're probably not going to make the decision to build. it is plain and simple. the merchant utilities have pretty much said that trade unless they get a loan guarantee, they are not building. you will see some reactors because some states allow them to build it into the base. at that point, they are guaranteed a return. they do not have to worry about being able to pass it on to the consumer because it is guaranteed through a regulatory body. if we want to see an expansion to the tune of 100 new reactors, we will have to ensure that it applies to more than just a handful of and finance it through their states. we have to be able to ensure that the merchant facilities or utilities also have the capacity through loan guarantees. that is the single greatest policy going right now. it is important that we see the cap expanded and some of the other bells and whistles evened out. >> thank you all v

that's what level lives, equally as the overall metric for utility. if you're having to pay literally 30% more to borrow money as you don't have a loan guarantee versus if you do you're probably not going to make the decision to build. plain and simple. the merchant utilities and irregular states have pretty much said that. unless they get a loan guarantee they are not building. you're going to see some reactors they respected of anything else because you have states that allow the utility to build and/or rate. at that point they are guaranteed a return. they don't have to worry about being able to pass onto the consumer because it's guaranteed in the law or through a regulatory body. but it we want to see the expansion to the tune of 100 new reactors, we're going to have to ensure that that applies to more than just a handful who can finance it through their states. we have to be able to ensure that the merchant facilities or the merchant utilities also have the capacity through loan guarantees. and that's i think the single greatest policy going rig

his particular utility has more wind generation than any other in the nation. by structuring the cap and a trade bill, forcing people who emit carbon dioxide to buy the permits first from the government, doing nothing to slow down carbon dioxide emissions, and then pushing them to go out and do the capital investment to get rid of more of the high-carbon-in meeting fuel, you are doubling the cost. i think that sums up why most republicans believe it is the wrong thing to do. i think republicans are concerned about doing this to the economy at this point in time. the economy is not doing well, and nobody estimates that this will actually reduce the cost of energy or reduce the cost of the things that you and i buy. all of those i think are added up, and then i think people are saying, look, the stance on global warming is not moving in a certain direction, it is moving in the opposite direction. in australia, similar legislation appears to be feeling because fewer people believe that manmade carbon dioxide is causing global warming. so i think republicans think,

he's vice president of the national association of regulatory utility commissioners. david is acutely sensitive to the particular needs of rural utilities where a small state, but this issue of transmission is incredibly important to us as it is all around. so i want to welcome him and thank you, mr. chairman, for inviting david to be here and add to the testimony. thank you. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scolese. >> thank you, mr. chairman. renewable energies will play an important role in the energy policy and the support the development of renewable sources of energy. as a matter of fact, republicans have drafted legislation, the american energy act which will be in energy. as we expand energy sources like wind, solar and hydro and as the congress and this administration discussed the grid and its capacity, we must not neglect that many of these sources of energy are intermittent and need to be backed up by other sources of energy and we would be remiss if we do not emphasize the importance of diversifying our energy portfolio and ensuri

levine, and northwest austin municipal utility district v. holder. wythe had a predecessor the year before in regal v. medtmbing ronic. the court held 8-1 that the f.d.a.'s regime for medical devices preempted all state law, charging the device the f.d.a. allowed to be marketed caused physical injuries. i was the lone dissenter in that case. wythe v. levine involved drugs rather than devices and the absence of a preemption clause in that statute. tort suits under state law could be maintained, the court held 6-3, claims for inadequate warnings on drug labels. caperton v. a.t. mass see cole company came with a record resembling john grisham's novel "the appeal." there was a jury verdict in favor of caperton who charged the coal company's predatory practices drove him out of business. the west virginia supreme court, dividing 3-2, reversed the judgment for caperton. declared victory for the coal company. there was one problem. justice benjamin who cast the deciding vote in west virginia's highest court was newly elected to the court, the coal company's

representing rate payers and utilities. she helped to create the first stand alone transmission company, otherwise known as atc and helped to cite a 210 mile extra high voltage line in wisconsin and minnesota. in addition to all of these credentials, i can also tell you what she eats for breakfast and grow in her vegetable garden because as you all know she is also my partner. i welcome her to our subcommittee. >> thank you, congresswoman. >> we welcome you and whenever you're ready, please begin. >> thank you, ranking member upton, and the members of the subcommittee, thanks for inviting me to appear at this hearing on the future of the grid, and my primary messages for today are number one, before a transmission grid can be cost effectively planned, congress must define the goals for that grid. number two, states with technical assistance from the regional and utility transmission engineers should plan the grid and cite transmission lines. three, congress should define the framework through which the states will design an

>> the president said the utility rates would necessarily skyrocket. i am not putting words into his mouth. i think he is right. to understand cap and trade, as near as i do, it is a regime intended to increase the cost of electricity particularly generated from traditional fossil fuel sources in order to drive the economy in the direction of alternative energy. that is the point of cap and trade. they tried to mitigate that by creating a marketplace where people can swap credits and allowances. but the point is to raise the cost of producing energy in the utilization of traditional resources. again, there is this view, to your point, about the number and i do want to grant that. but there's not much dispute about the fact that low-cost, millions of american jobs, in the bill itself, democrats included an enormous amount of money to go to americans who would lose their jobs as a result of the cap and trade legislation passing into law. i cannot remember in my eight and a half years in congress and the other legislation that actually included a fund to

the utility district saw a statutory exemption, a release to pre clear that was called a bailout. the bailout is not available to the utility district, then the 2006 voting rights act that we -- would be unconstitutional. it would exeunt congress ' power. congress passed the measure with an overwhelming majority. they stress the difference that they rejected the act. what the supreme court will do with this case remains to be seen. the second circuit rate high on our grant was this term. -- rate high on our grant list this term. -- ranked high on our grant list this term. in the two most recently decided cases, the court affirmed the circuit's judgment. two of the reversals were issued on the same fitting day. one of the two involved a section of the clean water act that specified the standards governing cooling water intake systems must reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. several states and environmental groups challenged as unduly lax, the performance standards that were set for the structures. concluding that the statute did not p

utilities are now so anxious to get off their land. they will be bidding each other to get as valuable material back again. there are all sorts of interesting rare earths in this. it is a tremendous source. >> if we begin building smaller and more nuclear power plants, the question of safely storing the used fuel on site is not an issue? >> you can go to two different places for the answer on that. if you go to the scientists who have the job of coming up with problems and do not have work to do if they do not find problems, you will find there are a lot of problems if you go out into the new -- if you go out into the real world, who has ever been hurt by nuclear waste? nuclear activist that wrote " electric wars" said that nuclear waste is no more dangerous than many types of industrial waste. we have about 6000 of these casts with some material in it. you should get an osha sticker that says not to eat the ceramics. it is all in the can. there are lots of things you should not eat. that is just one of them. >> thank you. >> it seems

this is going to impact utility bills unfairly. it will impact job opportunity unfairly. frankly, the jobs we lose in our part of the country and the country generally are not likely to relocate somewhere else in america. they're more likely, these manufacturing jobs, use lots of energy to locate in a country that has less environmental standards than we do. the ultimate lose-lose. we lose the jobs you put more of these things in the air than you would otherwise and americans suffer because of that. in our state, the estimate is that utility bills would go up 40% in the first five years, 80% in the first 10 years and even more after the various allowances are gone. this is unfair to american families and frankly, the less you can afford to put in new windows, new insulation, new everything else, the harder a burden this is going to be. i urge my colleagues to vote this bill down and work together to have a better bill for america and i yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i want to yield to the gentleman from

every household family will see an increase in their utility bills. we brought amendments, last night, to protect american jobs. they ruled every one of those amendments out of order. we brought amendments to protect american families from having their utility bills increased. they ruled every one of those amendments out of order. what is speaker pelosi and this liberal leadership trying to hide from the american people? we should have an open, honest debate on this bill. it's a bad bill and rule. i urge rejection of the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. matsui: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. matsui: my speaker has arrived and i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from new mexico, mr. lujan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico is recognized for one minute. mr. lujan: thank you very much, mr. speaker. our country's dependence on foreign oil threatens our economy and security. we need to take bold steps to become energy independent by growing the

eight days after congress' latest reauthorization of the voting rights act, a small municipal utility district in travis county, texas, formed in the late 1980's, filed suit in federal court alleging that it never engaged in discriminal that story voting practices -- discriminatory voting practices. the utility district thought a statutory exemption from section 5's coverage, a release from the obligation to pre-clear called a bail you the. if bail you the is not available to it, the utility district all thively argued, then the 2006 voting rights act, the reauthorization of the 1965 act, woulding unconstitutional. it would, according to the plaintiff, exceed congress' power to enforce the 14th and 15th amendments. congress had passed the reauthorization act by overwhelming majority in both houses. a three-judge federal district court in the district of columbia, stressing the deference due to congress, rejected the utility district's argument and upheld the act. what the supreme court will do in this case remains to be seen. the second circuit ranked high on our grant list this term.

especially for utilities operating in deregulated states. if there is to be the massive commitment to new builds that some have called for it must be expanded and modified as is done in the comprehensive energy legislation that was favorably reported by the energy resources committee several of you are members of last week. it is important to address the role the federal government supporting any energy source for a project. we firmly believe that the private sector operating within the confines of a market economy is the best arbiter of the most efficient use of private capital to meet the country's energy needs. in some narrow instances market inefficiency market involvement. to further the energy goals of the country is one example. the instance of loan guarantees should not be considered a subsidy. while they inherently increase the risk to the taxpayer, a properly functioning program will not result in the expenditure of any taxpayer dollars. and this is especially accurate for new nuclear reactors. and in conclusion, the united states

utilities are opposed to this bill. the transportation sector are opposed to this bill. why? because they believe democrats. they believe john dingell when he says nobody in this country realizes that a cap and trade is a tax. and it's a very big one. they believe barack obama when he said, under my plan a cap and trade system, electricity costs would necessarily skyrocket. what's the result? they believe the pennsylvania public utility commission that says 66,000 pennsylvanians will lose their job. why am i so impassioned? these are miners who lost their job the last time we came to the well on climate legislation. 1,200 miners lost their jobs. $35,000 miners lost their job in the state of ohio. what will this do to the average american? here's an example. democrats came to power, a gallon of gas was $2.33. now it's $2.66. add the cap and trade cacks, add 77 cents, it's $3.43 for a gallon of gas. that's ok in the big city, but in rural america, where you have to drive long distances to go to school to go to the store. why do we have the rich country -- rich places in this co

.@@@ and essentially back-stop planning mode, and require that regions, rtos, utilities, or interconnecting transmission owners, issue solicitations for long-term contracts or renewables on a delivered price basis. >> i want to make sure i have the other two, i want to get the other two witnesses, if you'd kind of wrap up. >> thank you. >> haunk, congressman. i'm optimistic that if congress sets the goal and sets the process and has a strong back-stop authority, that we'll be able to get this done. if we don't get it done, i think that's when the role of ferc steps in. so if ferc, if the states came up with a specific plan and the plan did not meet the objectives of congress, that congress set, i think there needs to be essentially an overseer. and i personally would be fine with that being the federal government. saying, yeah, this plan actually meets those objectives. but the plan itself has to be designed by the states. >> mr. chairman? >> thank you, congressman hinsly. just do respond to mr. hibbard. i want to make very clear that ferc is very committed to competitive market solutions.

to stop blocking utilities for nondiscriminatory access to wholesale transmission lines so there could be more competition in the area. the ferc been built upon the wall that i created and issued generic order 888 on transmission access which is a historic order and that is based upon my 1992 law so i'm very sensitive to this issue but again i don't think we should taylor something that goes beyond what is needed, and i say this to you, chairman wellinghoff, part of the problem we have in massachusetts and new england as well is with, and it's not you, it's your predecessor of ferc that has just left office, but pre-empting the state and local governments from granting ferc sliding authority on wholesale electric transmission lines. that issue is illuminated by the fact ferc has seemed to be completely unresponsive to the local concerns when it comes to deciding of the liquefied natural gas facility in fall river, massachusetts. i have an lng facility in my district of massachusetts. massachusetts working with federal government has the license to the lng facilities about 10 miles off

choice of what med cases they can utilize. -- medications they can utilize. whether they can have a procedure or surgery that is so desperately needed. it's going to be a program that's going to literally kill people because it's going to deny them care. that's desperately needed system of this tax and cap legislation, cap and trade as it's called, is about money. it's not about the environment. it's about money. it's about more funds being brought into the federal government to foster what i call a steam roller of socialism being shoved down the throats of the american people. it's going to slay the american commism it's going to cost jobs. the president's talked about using spain as the -- as the icon for what we should look at. well -- spain and the icon the president looks to we already see for every single green job that it produced another 2.2 jobs that were real jobs, permanent jobs, were destroyed. in my congressional district in northeast georgia, right now today, in many counties, we have an unemployment rate of nearly 14%. in multiple counties. the

the rest of the value of this program is going to york utility, going to your utility, and that utility by law would be required to recycle the value of that back to you in ways to keep your rates low, in ways to insulate your home and to help you get an energy efficient washer or dryer. that is going to be recycled back to you. we could go through the list of where else that goes. but this money basically is required to go back to the u.s. economy. it is not going to be subject to appropriations of congress. one other thing frankly that i think a very good in this bill -- this money is not subject to congress appropriating it. it is all designate where it is going to go back to the american people. that means congress men and women cannot go there and redirect this money to any particular project or purpose. we have assured ourselves and our constituents that it would be used for these specific purposes. i think it is a real wholesome thing. host: our last call, christine on the democrat line from halifax, pennsylvania. caller: i am an american voter who strongly believes in the scienc

we have a bill that takes in all of the above approach, actually utilizes american natural resources, our oil, our natural gas, their -- there are estimates that we've got almost 100 years of natural gas reserves here in this country. in fact in louisiana the largest natural gas find in the history of our country occurred just three years ago. i know one of my colleagues will be talking about that. we've got the ability here in our country to secure our energy independence. we've got legislation we filed that would help us secure that energy independence. they won't allow us a hearing on this bill because they are promoting this cap and trade energy tax. a tax on energy that again as we talked about, as we are talking about, our young children, encouraging them to lead healthy lifestyles, we need to also be creating policies here that give them those opportunities so that they don't get out of school and have to go straight to the unemployment line. their bill, this cap and trade energy tax, got a copy of it right here, there are 55 pages, 55 pages in tir bill dedicated to job losses.

and it can be utilized also for energy generation. so that the transportation sector, the energy generation and energy storage areas can all be addressed by this battery innovation. that is the key that can unlock the door to immense potential and opportunities of all kinds. so we are at the cusp, i believe, of tremendous discoveries here that will allow us to compete effectively in this global race to be the energy go-to nation. mr. polis: we hear about these wonderful things, battery storage technologies, jobs being created in new mexico and new york, clean electric vehicles, what we are talking about and the nexus to why this is important and what american families need to know, is the american clean energy and security act is the enabling law that allows all of this to occur. all of this great stuff that we are talking about, the job creation, the clean cars, the storage. this will all be dealt a huge blow if congress fails to act. that's why the stakes for this debate are so important. mr. heinrich. mr. heinrich: i think this who

it will lower utility bills by 7%. this bill is a tremendous opportunity to prevent a dangerous threat of creating millions of new jobs and a driving economic growth. it will end our dependence on foreign oil and keep us more secure. this bill will drive to a new area of sustainable growth and innovation. i urge all members to support it. i reserve the balance of my time. >> the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> i ask unanimous consent that the ranking member of the agricultural committee controlled the first 15 minutes of the debate on the minority side. >> determine from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you. i yield myself as much time as eye can consume. the bill promises to destroy our standard of living in the quality of life with higher energy costs, food prices, and lost jobs. it is the single largest economic threat to our farmers and ranchers in decades. we have more than 115 agricultural and food groups that will oppose this bill as of today. i would ask the list be entered into record at the appropriate

it's not whether there is utility. polis obviously utility and these strategies. >> i'm hoping somebody can answer this question. this whole bank of business kind of an artful term but this entire business arena, what percentage would be of that classification that's not easily valued? >> i think most over-the-counter contracts don't have a problem in that regard if you're talking about energy, currency, whatever it is if there is a vigorous trade market it's easy to come up with a derivative. but if it is a very complex derivative. but when you were talking about a liquid corporate bonds or loans to corporations if you're talking about a complex structured asset two or three levels of packaging away from the reference asset it's supposed to be derived from that creates complexities in terms of pricing that i think is daunting and i will tell you now there are very few firms on the street that if the people, the resources and money to do the work. let me give you an example -- >> doesn't that get to the point i was rai

american technology which is being utilized around the world to safely extract petroleum. if you look at my state in california and you go to santa barbara you see historically there have been leaked from the bottom of the ocean there because of the pressure, because of the petroleum that lies under the ocean floor. we can actually take some of that pressure off by drilling and producing there. lastly, i would say it would be -- someone would have to be a hermit somewhere stuck in a cave to not understand that we have a terrible economic problem in california, a terrible problem with our budget, terrible deficits, and one of the ways that we could achieve some sort of stability with our budget in california, our state budget would be to allow offshore drilling and take those royalties that would come to the state as a result of having that offshore drilling, bringing those moneys into the state treasury. we would do two things. we would help increase the security of this nation with respect to energy, on the one hand, because this would be u.s. energy production. and secon

it's funded through an assessment through all of the utilities and rather in that assessment is paidto ferc who then pace nerc. we've taken the financial incentives out of the hand of the rto or the rely jacket council in this case. when we talk about independent planning it's not about some kind of closed door deal here it's about getting the financial impacts off the back of the rto so they can do the job that they are there to do. then when we get to that point you have the question that says hey, who should participate and which of the rates of returns that these companies should earn? i think that the fair thing to say here is, when you start to build regional projects that everyone is affected they should be participating in as financial investors. those people should be part of that investment proposition because they are all there to make the grid work and work in a concert way. when you build a regional grid, you have to have yourself in a position where you can maintain it. no one company could ever go across thousands of miles, havolihav have linemen, line crews. so it tak

it is funded through an assessment through all of the utility's and rather, that assessment is paid to ferc who pays nairra in we have taken the incentives of the market participants on the hands of the rto or in this case the reliability council so when we talk about independent planning is not about some kind of closed-door deal here. it is about getting the financial impacts of the back of the rto's so they can do the job they are there to do nothing amici to that point of the question that says who should participate and which of the rates of returns these company should earn? a fair thing we should say here is when you build regional projects they should be participating in it as financial investors-- those people should be part of that investment proposition because they are all there to make the grid work and work in a concert way. when you build a regional grid, you have to have yourself in a position where you can also maintain it. no one company could ever go across thousands of miles, have lineman, line crews, warehouse facilities and everything we need so it is going to tak

the bill requires electric utilities to meet 20% of their electricity demand through renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by the year 2020. it redues carbon emissions from major u.s. sources by 17% by 2020, it reduces carbon emissions by over 80% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. complimentary measures in the legislation such as investments in preventing tropical deforestation will achieve significant additional reductions in carbon emissions. . it includes energy efficiency and renewable energy. that's to the tune of $90 billion in new investments by 2025. it invests in $20 billion in electric and other advance technology vehicles. it invests $20 billion in basic scientific research and development and protects consumers from high energy prices. and according to estimates from the environmental protection agency, the reductions in carbon pollution required by legislation will cost american families less than the cost of a postage stamp per day. the fact is i don't come before you today to say that this bill is wrapped up in a bowl. i come to you asking you to engage in the p

he is a leader within the utility industry and the public policy area. we thank you for being here, mr. izzo, whenever you're ready, please begin. >> mr. chairman and members of the subcommittee, i thank you for the opportunity -- >> could you move the microphone just a little bit closer. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify. and owns and operates electric generating capacity in the northeast, mid atlantic and texas. pscg has long supported policies to promote long renewable generation. we are planning major vestments in solar, off-shore wind generation and an energy storage technology that will make renewable energy more competitive. the question today is not whether we should vigorously promote renewable generation, but how. specifically, how should we use transmission policy to promote renewable generation at the lowest possible cost. this would include not just federal siding authority, but transmissions with cost allocation that are fundamental to determining how much transmission is built and where. there are two competing views on this, one

madam president, i'm happy to say that the utility tunnel work is on schedule and significantly below original cost estimates. the bill also includes over $14 million in energy and sustainability projects across the capitol campus. the lie beer of congress fund -- the library of congress funding totals $638 million a 4% increase over the current year which includes $8.5 million for technology upguides to allow for increased digitalization of the library's collections and full funding for the digital talking book for the blind project. the government accountability office is funded at $553.6 million, a 4% increase over country year and provides all salary and inflationary increases for g.a.o. current staff level. the government printing office is funded at $147 million, which is a 4% raise over current year. allowing for the continued implementation of g.p.o.'s federal digital system and other technology upgrades. the congressional budget office is funded at $45 million, a 2% increase over the current year. combined with the $2 million included in the supplemental, c.b.o. will have ade

we have families that are trying to pay their utility costs. they are trying to afford their gasoline and yet we have a bill down here that is all talk and no bill. don't vote for this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. without objection, the gentleman from california -- mr. markey: we continue to reserve our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i reserve my time, because they've got more time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i'm pleased at this time to yield to the gentlelady from the state of maryland, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from maryland is recognized. ms. edwards: i rise today in strong favor and support of the american clean energy and security act of 2009. and i'm going to tell you, i was a reluctant comer but i commend chairman markey and chairman waxman for their work and dedication. this is a big step towards ensuring that our children live in a better and cleaner environment

this amendment would make substantial improvements in health information technology by utilizing thesame technology that atm's and debit cards have used as an effective tool to protect personal information while providing more efficient access to important information. to promote competition and fair pricing for patients, providers will be required to provide a cost estimate for non-emergency treatments for coke after the treatment provider, must furnish an itemized list for charges for such treatment at the time of billing. to encourage more research and accountability for public programs, the secretary of health and human services is required to make available to the public including tran internet web site data on claims and patient encounters under medicare and medicaid. this is all privacy protected. to cut them bureaucratic red tape and administrative waste is the amendment utilizes cutting edge technology to promote efficiency. every doctor's office including mine has shelves and shelves of color-coded folders, containing valuable in private medical information. everytime you v

we are utilizing intelligence, and our organization keeps that foremost in mind. i am not certain that an intelligence agency would have the same appreciation of the intelligence. ray kelly is here, and does a terrific job we learned this from ray. we asked him about the noises -- necessity of finding intelligence in his operation. he is one of the foremost advocates of that. [applause] >> speaking of counterterrorism, can you talk about how counterterrorism strategy and or tactics have changed under the new administration? and comment on your recent comments before congress, saying guantanamo should not be closed after the president said it should be? >> let me address the latter first, that was not my testimony at all. i stayed away from opining on what should happen with regard to guantanamo. to the extent that there are areas in which we will play a role, we will end up playing a role on what is done as a result. i have seen in terms of the new administration coming in the interest of the president or national security council when it comes to addressing terro

the claims of opponents that the co-2 controls under the bill will force utilities to surrender coal use causing an over reliance on natural gas with attendant broad economic harm to the nation are also simply wrong. this is a responsible measure. it is carefully balanced. it reduces greenhouse gases by 83% by the year 2050 as compared to 2005 levels. it keeps electricity rates affordable. it enables coal useage to grow as the demand for electricity increases nationwide. it opens the door to a more secure energy future and the creation of millions of new jobs, innovating, deploying and exporting to the world. the new low carbon dioxide emitting technologies that will power our energy future. these are sound reasons to approve the bill. for those who still harbor doubts, let me make a more practical argument to vote for passage. in march of 2007, the supreme court held that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. you should that ruling and the terms of -- under that ruling and the terms of the existing act, the environmental protection agency is now effectively required to regulate co-2 emissi

we are a military that police in the utility of cluster bombs. they have a specific military purpose that we still think there is a -- has a valid reason and can be very effective in dealing with certain situations. i do not know of any plans for us to send a deckle -- a delegation. arbor, you have been very patient. >> i was interested reading the column over the weekend where secretary gates reached out to the communists there because he wanted to talk about general jones' foreign policy process in the obama administration. i wanted ask you about it because the article says that the secretary himself reached out and proposed the interview to talk about general jones and the gossip going on in the administration about general trends. this seems pretty extraordinary. is the writer and actor that the secretary reached out? >> he is correct in that i reached out to david ignatius, because as the secretary believe, general jones is doing a terrific job and the fact is he characterized it to ignatius, jones he believes is the glue that is holding thi

asked those who utilize the indian health service if they receive the choices necessary to respond and probably to their needs. as the medicaid mom if the system will facilitate their treatment. ask them. asked how the delivery system that responds to their needs. none of these may be printable healthcare we all hold dear comic sensibility, affordability, innovation, choices. there are positive solutions. ones that would improve the situation. that is what we should be doing. we should not be forcing every single american into a system that will betray those principles dear to all. the final analysis, the question becomes, will we allow americans the opportunity to opt out? will we allow three people the right to decide that this is not the system they want for themselves or for their family? i would hope that the panelists would address that question. this is hardly a step in preserving the patience/doctor relationship. when you go through the pages of this bill, as you will note is not on our does this morning, it is based on the government absolution philosophy. this is more federal

madam speaker, it is not the utilities, oil companies, and other producers that will bear the cost of this new regime. we already know the companies will pass their higher costs along to the consumers and small businesses that rely on their services. this means more expensive bills for all americans from everything to electricity, heating, gasoline, and groceries. this energy tax come down -- it comes down hardest on the poor. they spend less than 5% of its income on energy intensive products. other families spend over 20% on those items. this is according to cbo. with a watchful eye towards jobs and economic growth, let us give thoughtful consideration to the benefits this unilateral action will bring about. even if the bill cuts carbon emissions to 83 percent of current levels by 2050, we are still only anticipated to slow global temperature increases by a mere 2 cents of a degree. there is also real elephant in the room. india and china, both of these free wheeling nations that are growing rapidly and not prepared to slow down. do you want to hamstring u.s. industry and put it at a

significant deployment of renewals across the country and kind of pressed regions and individual utilities to resolve their longstanding -- 9 won't call it opposition, i will call it skepticism. i saw it in the telephone sector and the cable sector, they moved overnight. to changing their perspective. do you think the legislation will do that and this federal role is not going to be as needed with the exception of the federal lands issue? >> there are 29 states that renew their portfolios standards. my state is one of those. it is 20%, by 2015, far ahead of most state standards. those standards have created markets, renewable energy, removed renewable energy into those markets very effectively. that is happening already. on the other hand, i have people coming in to my office who tell me the list is being curtailed because we don't have adequate transmission. that tells me we have a problem. is not simply the markets, it is the need to somehow ensure that this transmission gets built to make it deliverable. we need to make a deliverable. >> you are saying that the stakes are not cooperatin

cargo risk-management indicates, while marching other credit support mechanisms are in place in utilized every day in the otc market there is flexibility in the credit terms, the credit threshold some type of collateral that can be applied. this flexibility is a benefit for end users of derivatives such as cargill in managing working capital. losing this flexibility is particularly concerning because mandatory marching will divert working capital from investments that can grow our business and-- well it depends on market conditions the diversion of working capital from cargill for marching could be in excess of $1 billion. multiply this across all companies in the united states and the ramifications are enormous especially at a time when credit is critically tight. kevin colgan from the corporate treasurer caterpillar, our understanding of current and pending regulation in this area is it would require clearing function which would standardize terms like duration and amount. any standardization of this type would prohibit us from matching exactly the terms and underlined exposure we are

we want to ensure that these funds will be appropriately utilized, and we will investigate and prosecute where necessary. our goal is to protect the financial services industry and by extension, the economy. to that end, we will continue to target those with the opportunity and the intent to harm and bester conference and the public at large. one certainly does not need to be a roosevelt scholar to know that in his opinion, common sense was as important as education, kerch of one's convictions should always prevail, and that integrity, integrity was the cornerstone of any endeavor, public or private. in the past century, we have seen great change for better and for worse. and while the players, the technology and the resulting damage is maybe novel, corporate fraud and corruption are as old as time. and the best tools at our disposal are the same as those espoused by roosevelt. hard work. credibility. kerch. and character. it is my hope that by working together we can minimize fraud and corruption. we each have a role to play, and together we can bring to light the wrongdoing that threat

electric utilities support the bill, manufacturers support the bill, farmers support the bill, and so do the nation's leading environmental organizations, labor unions and faith-based groups. there are many members responsible for this remarkable coalition. on the energy and commerce committee, john dingell helped force compromises with the auto industry. rick boucher developed ideas that will provide a future for coal. mike doyle addressed the concerns of the steel industry and other trade vulnerable industries. the chairman of the ways and means committee worked with us to make sure that the interests of low-income families are fully protected. and the chairman of the agriculture committee made sure the legislation addresses the concerns of farmers and makes them part of our energy future. the need to act is clear and urgent. there is a national security imperative to act. this legislation at long last begins to break our addiction to imported foreign oil and put us on a path to true energy security. there is a scientific imperative to act. the evidence on global warming, on the con