by Mark Silva
President Barack Obama, celebrating the House's passage of an energy bill that will ultimately cap greenhouse gas emissions and enable power companies and other polluters to trade their rights for emissions to one another, hailed the measure today as key to promoting alternative sources of energy and creating many new jobs.
Republican leaders are calling the measure "Nancy Pelosi's national energy tax'' and "a carbon tax.'' Environmentalists are calling it the most important measure ever.
The bill, which cleared the House by 219-212 on Friday -- defections on both sides, 44 Democrats opposing it, eight Republicans supporting it. Senate action comes next.
"The energy bill that passed the House will finally create a set of incentives that will spark a clean energy transformation in our economy,' the president said today, in his weekly radio and Internet address.
"It will spur the development of low carbon sources of energy - everything from wind, solar, and geothermal power to safer nuclear energy and cleaner coal,'' Obama said. "It will spur new energy savings, like the efficient windows and other materials that reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. And most importantly, it will make possible the creation of millions of new jobs.''
(See the president's address above and read it below:)
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a historic piece of legislation that will open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America.
For more than three decades, we have talked about our dependence on foreign oil. And for more than three decades, we have seen that dependence grow. We have seen our reliance on fossil fuels jeopardize our national security. We have seen it pollute the air we breathe and endanger our planet. And most of all, we have seen other countries realize a critical truth: the nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.
Now is the time for the United States of America to realize this too. Now is the time for us to lead.
The energy bill that passed the House will finally create a set of incentives that will spark a clean energy transformation in our economy. It will spur the development of low carbon sources of energy - everything from wind, solar, and geothermal power to safer nuclear energy and cleaner coal. It will spur new energy savings, like the efficient windows and other materials that reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. And most importantly, it will make possible the creation of millions of new jobs.
Make no mistake: this is a jobs bill. We're already seeing why this is true in the clean energy investments we're making through the Recovery Act. In California, 3000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant that will create 1000 permanent jobs. In Michigan, investment in wind turbines and wind technology is expected to create over 2,600 jobs. In Florida, three new solar projects are expected to employ 1400 people.
The list goes on and on, but the point is this: this legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. That will lead to the creation of new businesses and entire new industries. And that will lead to American jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced. I have often talked about the need to build a new foundation for economic growth so that we do not return to the endless cycle of bubble and bust that led us to this recession. Clean energy and the jobs it creates will be absolutely critical to this new foundation.
This legislation has also been written carefully to address the concerns that many have expressed in the past. Instead of increasing the deficit, it is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions. It provides assistance to businesses and families as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies. It gives rural communities and farmers the opportunity to participate in climate solutions and generate new income. And above all, it will protect consumers from the costs of this transition, so that in a decade, the price to the average American will be just about a postage stamp a day.
Because this legislation is so balanced and sensible, it has already attracted a remarkable coalition of consumer and environmental groups; labor and business leaders; Democrats and Republicans. And I want to thank every Member of Congress who put politics aside to support this bill on Friday.
Now my call to every Senator, as well as to every American, is this: We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past. Don't believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth. It's just not true.
We have been talking about energy for decades. But there is no longer a disagreement over whether our dependence on foreign oil is endangering our security. It is. There is no longer a debate about whether carbon pollution is placing our planet in jeopardy. It's happening. And there is no longer a question about whether the jobs and industries of the 21st century will be centered around clean, renewable energy. The question is, which country will create these jobs and these industries? I want that answer to be the United States of America. And I believe that the American people and the men and women they sent to Congress share that view. So I want to congratulate the House for passing this bill, and I want to urge the Senate to take this opportunity to come together and meet our obligations - to our constituents, to our children, to God's creation, and to future generations.
Thanks for listening.
Comments
The bill is a joke, passed by a Democrat-run Congress none of whom actually read, let alone understood, the bill. Passed by a Democrat Congressional majority that didn't even want to read the bill. Passed when there wasn't even a readable copy of the bill.
Welcome to the Obama era, when 1200-page bills are voted on unread, unknown, and undebated....
Posted by: No Change, No Hope | June 27, 2009 10:39 AM
I wish, you ranting Republicans, knew what you were talking about, instead we get gibberish. The House of Representatives passed an Energy bill, not Congress !! Thank God, they did ! We need to do something, right now, about global warming. I know you bush Republicans haven't a clue about global warming, so why don't you take a few days and read and study the global problem? I know that might be too much, to ask of you !! Given the fact, that you are in the middle of a search-and-destroy mission, targeting sensible programs, being presented by President Obama and the Democratic Party. Do us all a favor and take a break, from your bomb-throwing !! Guess what, we may actually do something right for America and that's a good thing !! Right?
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS,BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | June 27, 2009 11:40 AM
“In California, 3000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant that will create 1000 permanent jobs. In Michigan, investment in wind turbines and wind technology is expected to create over 2,600 jobs. In Florida, three new solar projects are expected to employ 1400 people.”
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If Obama really wanted to sell this bill to the American public he would not be quoting such paltry numbers. The California unemployment rate is already at 11.5% and expected to reach 12.3 percent after shedding another 200,000 jobs by year end. Michigan reported the highest jobless rate last month at 14.1%, and is also expected to have lost over 100,000 jobs by year end. Florida’s unemployment rate is also in double digits at 10.2%. Does Obama really think that a few thousand jobs in each of those distressed areas are going to make much of a difference? They won’t even replace a small part of the jobs that have been lost. Nor will they represent the replacement of but an even smaller fraction of the jobs that will be lost by the time the law goes into effect. Does he really think that anyone should be impressed?
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And at what cost does all of this come? Obama says that it will be paid for by all the “polluters.” That’s a nice thought. “Polluters,” in this sense, happens to include farmers and energy producers as a result of their use of coal and fuel oil. How many farmers in California’s central valley are going to go out of business as a result of this bill? How about all of the farms and manufacturers in the mid-west and South that depend heavily on coal for electricity, and on fuel oil to drive their agricultural operations? One has to doubt whether the net gain in employment is going to offset the jobs lost by the increased demands on our current energy regimen. And this is supposed to help the economy?
Posted by: John W. | June 27, 2009 12:22 PM
For every "green job created" there will be a better paying "tradiional energy job" lost. Jobs like oil drillers and rig operators.
I wonder if the unions will roll over and play dead and not try to unionize these "green jobs". If they are unionized, these industries will never make it past their start-up phase w/o massive gov't subisidization
Posted by: Terry | June 27, 2009 12:55 PM
* * * * *
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | June 27, 2009 11:40 AM
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Don,
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You have no place to talk about others spewing gibberish. You regularly have your own Emily Litella moments here on the Swamp.
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Even in this post of yours you exclaim, “The House of Representatives passed an Energy bill, not Congress !! Thank God, they did !” Don, the House of Representatives is part of Congress. The Senate is the other part. The bill still has to go through the Senate too. In which case, the bill has to be passed by Congress before it gets to Obama’s desk. Your joy at the House passage of the bill, in contradistinction to Congress, is unintelligible.
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(Never mind.)
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Nobody likes pollution regardless of whether it results in global warming. That’s not the issue. The issue is the concern that a lot of people of all political stripes have that this bill might seriously harm the economy before it could every hope to make it better. One cannot simply replace a source of economic growth with nothing and expect the economy to go along at the same pace or better. The hope that green energy will supplant our dependence on coal and fuel oil is no promise or guarantee that it will. One should, instead, work to bring green energy on line and retire the older fuel technologies as they are supplanted. One must be concerned that the details chosen by the House of Representatives will actually answer the needs of the economy or put us back onto Nineteenth Century technology (or earlier, or worse) before we are done. Given that it was a 1200 to 1500 page bill that no one read in its entirety, there is some reason for concern.
Posted by: John W. | June 27, 2009 2:41 PM
New Jobs- MORE TAXES-
Who is kidding who?
Posted by: Inky | June 28, 2009 9:06 AM
This bill - yes, I HAVE read it, it's about 1200 pages, but it's big type and doublespaced - is the 2009 version of the Smoot-Hawley tariff. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but had tremendous unintended consequences.
Posted by: DaveB | June 28, 2009 9:48 AM
The Idiot in chief addressed a nation of idiots?
Our President is a gifted talker. However, that gift cannot cover up the stupid stuff he is made to read from Teleprompters. The Whitehouse needs to realize that the idiotic statements uttered by the president during his last speech concerning the “energy bill” make him look like moron or a plain liar. Speechwriters have been seriously undermining the president’s credibility. Whose mouthpiece is the president anyway?
1) “..the nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.”
This is stupid talk because France has been the leader in clean energy and was certainly not the leader in the 20th nor will it be the leader in the 21st century global economy.
2) “…will lead to the creation of new businesses and entire new industries. And that will lead to American jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced.”
Who says that windmills, generators and solar cells cannot be outsourced? They are outsourced right now. The only thing that cannot be outsourced is drilling for oil, digging for coal and uranium on US soil which is exactly the industry that is being stigmatized by this administration.
3) “...This legislation has also been written carefully to address the concerns that many have expressed in the past. Instead of increasing the deficit, it is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions.”
Who are we kidding? The polluters are the consumers, not the industry providing the services to the end-user who consumes the energy in form of electricity and every product purchased, from food to clothing to toys for children. The consumer is causing the pollution and he will pay the hefty tax disguised as cap and trade.
4) “…There is no longer a debate about whether carbon pollution is placing our planet in jeopardy. It's happening. And there is no longer a question about whether the jobs and industries of the 21st century will be centered on clean, renewable energy.”
Repeating a falsehood over and over doesn’t make it the truth but is effective brainwash. CO2 related Global warming remains a hoax no matter how many powerful computers and computer models are used and are being continuously modified just to “proof” that it is happening. There is no such thing as “clean, renewable energy” except Obama invents the Perpetuum Mobile.
The stupid and brain dead who drool over entertainment idols elected Obama and think he can walk on water and can feed the masses with two fish. Maybe they believe and eat the crap coming from Obama’s mouth. For me, I wait until the US Patent office issues Obama the patent for the Perpetuum Mobile first or register a trade mark for his phrase “I believe … therefore, by the power vested in me you have to believe”.
Posted by: Werner Strasser | June 28, 2009 12:44 PM
Where does the burden lie, when it comes to helping America recover from Bush's incompetence and malfeasance ? Moron Republicans than Democrats, because it was their stupidity that put one idiot in our White House, when they elected two people, Bush&Cheney. Now, President Obama and Vice-President Biden must dig our country out, from under, all of that bushbit !! I hope those boys and girls of the Party of No, will grow up, quit whining and help the majority, get our nation back on its feet. Is that too much to ask, " real Americans "??
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE.NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | June 28, 2009 3:50 PM
Obama sayeth: The bill is going to save the world, and create zillions and gazillions of jobs.
If the bill is that important, maybe he'll actually read it!
Posted by: No Change, No Hope | June 28, 2009 5:10 PM
John Bonner and the republicans have absolutely no credibility when it comes to saving jobs they actively participated in the elimination of hundreds of thousands of jobs. Have we forgotten that our wonderful republicans used our money to send people out to teach companies how to out source jobs. They acted as a go between with other government's to make it easier to out source jobs and then gave them a tax break as an incentive to eliminate jobs. Now the republicans Are complaining about job loss. Our congress is the best that money can buy even democrats have gotten into the act. We have a problem that needs to be fixed just look at how some of our wonderful politicians vote and then look at who is giving them money.
Posted by: no spin | June 29, 2009 9:41 AM
Don (and any other democrats, tree huggers), did you know that the northeast that during the month of July theres been more cold days then ever before. New York hasn't even gone past 80 degrees. Wow sounds like were really burning up! The temperature has been going up and down since the beginning of time. In the 1970's in TIME Magazine they said there was going to be another small ice age it's mother nature it's going to do whatever it wants.I could go on and on about how global warming is the biggest hoax in history, cause it is but I'm not gonna waste my time on some tree hugging idiot. And what a great job Obama's doing huh? Where's that change? Instead he is going to Paris and 25 other countries and the Jay Leno show. It cost over $1million of your tax money to see him on the Jay Leno show. So it's nice to see he's putting all are money to good use right? Yeah ok. Unemployment is up to 9.5 when he said it wouldn't go past 8. Foreclosure has gone up 15%. Yeah Great job Obama. And he wants gas prices to go up he said it was just sudden that was other than that he thinks they should be high! Obama is destroying the country into a socialist country. All he is doing is going to countries buying prime ministers box set children DVDs (idiot) Oh and the stimulus package that failed that was ridiculous! They spent $787 BILLION on it and they said it failed because they misread how bad the economy was. Are you serious you don't just misread somehting when it comes to $787 BILLION!!!! What's sad is I'm only 17 and I know more than half you idots. Obama isn't the president he's an A-list celebrity who hasn't done one thing.
Posted by: Stephanie Treadway | July 27, 2009 10:12 PM