Letters From Washington

Comment

Comment by Bob Shultis on June 26, 2009 at 9:52pm

This is great news! Thanks Suzanne, Paul, and 41 world USA. I know Doty Street well, having lived not far from it at one time. Love Madison!

Best regards,
Bob Shultis IA-03

Comment by Missy Steichen on June 26, 2009 at 9:00pm

Fabulous news... We're another step closer... Keep marching!

Comment by www.41WorldUSA.com on June 26, 2009 at 8:38pm

Friday, June 26, 2009

Dear Suzanne, Paul and 41 World USA,

There is momentum and successes in Congress this week. If you are following Congressional activities, you already know that this is the most productive and forward-thinking Congress in decades. This week alone, we passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), transformative climate change legislation that I worked on for more than two years. This bill is our response to a challenge that has consequences of epic proportions. I am proud of my floor statement on this landmark legislation.
#
The Clean Energy bill is a key component of President Obama's plan to create jobs, grow our economy, strengthen our national defense, combat global warming, and leave our world better for future generations. Combating climate change requires a bold transformation, but one that is absolutely necessary if we are to compete and thrive in the 21st Century.

This is part of the President's transformative plan. Congress is in high gear - Stay tuned!
Sincerely,

Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)
Your Member of Congress

MADISON OFFICE
10 East Doty St. Ste. 405
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 258-9800
(608) 258-9808 Fax

WASHINGTON OFFICE
2446 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2906
(202) 225-6942 Fax

THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS

This week, the House passed:
H.R. 2454, the Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. As discussed above, this legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs, enhance America's energy independence and national security, and protect the environment for future generations.  In a report released this week, both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the bill would speed the adaptation of clean energy technology and create new jobs for roughly the cost of one postage stamp per day per household. CBO report says 40% of American households will face almost no cost.

This legislation will enhance our national security by decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and greatly increasing our use of renewable wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal fuel sources. The EPA analysis finds that the nation’s gross domestic product would grow from $13 trillion in 2008 to more than $22 trillion in 2030 while using clean energy technology and reducing global warming pollution. 

IN COMMITTEE
ENERGY AND COMMERCE

The Energy and Commerce Committee held three days of intensive hearings on Clean Energy and Security Act and health care reform legislation that we are crafting. There is information on the hearings, including video of the proceedings, on our Committee website.

COMING UP
I work in Wisconsin all of next week, visiting with constituents to get their input on how to improve our Clean Energy and Security Act and health care reform legislation. 

Comment by Leslie G. on June 26, 2009 at 6:45pm

*** Breaking News *** Breaking News *** Breaking News ***
House Passes Landmark Climate Bill. Stage is Set for Senate Action.

Dear Friend,

We did it!

Moments ago, on a 219 to 212 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act, the most important environmental and energy legislation in our nation's history.

Environmental Defense Action Fund and our broad network of members, activists and strategic partners played a huge role in pushing this bill over the top.

You helped generate tens of thousands of emails, thousands of phone calls, dozens of paid ads, and countless legislative contacts with key House members and their staff.

EDF President Fred Krupp released the following statement:

Today's vote is a huge achievement for the country and the climate, and we applaud Speaker Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman and Markey, and all members of the House who helped craft this landmark legislation and get it passed.

The bill that emerged from the House has the fundamental structure we need to significantly reduce carbon pollution while growing the economy. It puts strong cap on emissions and reorients our energy market to make low-carbon power the goal. It ensures that utility rates will stay affordable and a competitive playing field for U.S. companies.

Today’s vote opens the door for President Obama to sign comprehensive climate legislation into law this year.

For everything you and the rest of our Action Network community did to help us achieve this historic victory, we can't thank you enough.

This is a day to remember, the day we began turning the corner toward a green energy future -- a future free from the catastrophic threats of run-away global warming.

We have our work cut out for us in the Senate, but today's victory gives us real hope of finally signing climate legislation into law.

Thanks for your activism and support and for everything you help make possible,

-- All of us here on the National Climate Campaign

Comment by Ted Wallace on June 26, 2009 at 5:19pm

219 to 212 squeaked through the House !
Anybody know what that means when itgets to the Senate ?

Comment by Joseph Campbell on June 26, 2009 at 8:35am

Dear Mr. Campbell:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Pickens Plan. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

I applaud T. Boone Pickens for offering solutions designed to help our Nation secure its energy independence. As your U.S. Senator, I continue to work on a bipartisan basis to develop policies that will move us closer to this goal while also protecting our economy and national security and helping Pennsylvania families cope with rising energy prices. I agree with Mr. Pickens that any forward-thinking energy strategy must provide for a diversity of reliable energy sources, including alternative and renewable sources such as wind and solar power. I supported the Renewable Fuels Standard that was included in the Energy Independence and Security Act that Congress passed on December 18, 2007 (P.L. 110-140) which calls for 36 billion gallons of domestic biofuels production by 2022. I am pleased that Congress has also succeeded in providing significant production and investment tax credits for renewable energy as part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343), and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). These policies will help our Nation secure its energy independence while strengthening the domestic market for clean energy technologies.

In addition to renewable sources, I’m carefully considering the role that fossil fuels like oil, coal, oil shale and natural gas should play in our national energy portfolio. When the price of crude oil topped $145 a barrel in the summer of 2008, many Americans called for increased domestic oil drilling. According the U.S. Department of the Interior, 79% of all known oil reserves on public lands are open for drilling right now. In fact, drilling activity in the United States has increased 361% over the past 7 years. Unfortunately, because we consume 24% of the world’s oil while we have only 3% of the world’s oil reserves, further increases in domestic drilling will not produce enough oil to lower oil prices that are set on a world market. For these reasons, increased drilling alone will not provide a long-term solution to this serious problem, nor will it provide short-term price relief. You may be interested to know, however, that the laws prohibiting offshore oil drilling in many parts of the Outer Continental Shelf expired on September 30, 2008.

The Senate is sure to consider legislation regarding our Nation’s energy policy during 111th Congress. As this critical work continues, please be assured that I will keep your views on the Pickens Plan closely in mind. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

Comment by Leslie G. on June 26, 2009 at 8:09am

Ted, I heard from The Earth people too, lol........
Updated Energy Savings Analysis of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act
Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:27pm

Comment by Ted Wallace on June 26, 2009 at 7:50am

Missy, You could try to talk to the nice folks at The Earth is not Flat (LOL). Some of the flack I was getting seems to have originated from Glen Beck and the Heritage Foundation, no point getting brain damage trying to talk to them. Some others offerred that the bill has too many compromises. Hopefully it's something we can build on and not something that will be easy pickings for those who will exploit anything they can.

Comment by www.41WorldUSA.com on June 26, 2009 at 5:29am

Please see below information from Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton about the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Lt. Gov. Lawton urges you to contact your U.S. Representative in U.S. House as soon as possible about this crucial vote. Best, Suzanne, Paul and 41 World USA www.41WorldUSA.com...

From: LT. GOV. BARBARA LAWTON
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009
To: Suzanne Verdoliva - Paul Weber - 41 WORLD USA
Re: Lt. Gov. Lawton Calls On U.S. House of Representatives to Pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act
Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, 608-266-3516

Today I, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, advocated quick passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and sent the following letter to the Wisconsin delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives:

“I urge you to set the United States on a path toward a sustainable future by voting Friday for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454). This crucial vote comes on the heels of the release of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s sobering 190-page report on the impacts of global climate change, the most comprehensive analysis to date and a clarion call for bold and immediate action.

By codifying the first-ever federal limits on global warming pollution, this bill provides a framework for our work in state government to implement the recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming and establish a renewable energy portfolio standard for Wisconsin. It also provides the essential policy framework within which businesses may make both short and long term decisions. They know they will have to operate in a carbon-constrained economy; they need us to act so they may plan accordingly.

States have long suffered from a lack of national leadership on this issue; your vote on Friday is an opportunity to correct this course. And it is a chance to establish our legitimate leadership role on the world stage just as the U.S. delegation prepares for an historic international summit in Copenhagen.

Wisconsin is well-positioned to benefit from the renewable energy incentives created by the bill: from wind to landfill gas to hydroelectric power to sources of energy not yet imagined, Wisconsin is poised to lead the transition to a renewable energy future that will mean new jobs and a strengthened economy.

Americans’ reliance on petroleum – most of which we import from the most volatile regions in the world – threatens our national and economic security. Please seize this moment to recast these challenges as opportunities for economic development and vote affirmatively on Friday.”

###

Comment by Marilyn on June 25, 2009 at 10:14pm

Following is Sen. Casey's response,


Dear M.E.Matthews:
"Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Pickens Plan. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

I applaud T. Boone Pickens for offering solutions designed to help our Nation secure its energy independence. As your U.S. Senator, I continue to work on a bipartisan basis to develop policies that will move us closer to this goal while also protecting our economy and national security and helping Pennsylvania families cope with rising energy prices. I agree with Mr. Pickens that any forward-thinking energy strategy must provide for a diversity of reliable energy sources, including alternative and renewable sources such as wind and solar power. I supported the Renewable Fuels Standard that was included in the Energy Independence and Security Act that Congress passed on December 18, 2007 (P.L. 110-140) which calls for 36 billion gallons of domestic biofuels production by 2022. I am pleased that Congress has also succeeded in providing significant production and investment tax credits for renewable energy as part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343), and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). These policies will help our Nation secure its energy independence while strengthening the domestic market for clean energy technologies.

In addition to renewable sources, I’m carefully considering the role that fossil fuels like oil, coal, oil shale and natural gas should play in our national energy portfolio. When the price of crude oil topped $145 a barrel in the summer of 2008, many Americans called for increased domestic oil drilling. According the U.S. Department of the Interior, 79% of all known oil reserves on public lands are open for drilling right now. In fact, drilling activity in the United States has increased 361% over the past 7 years. Unfortunately, because we consume 24% of the world’s oil while we have only 3% of the world’s oil reserves, further increases in domestic drilling will not produce enough oil to lower oil prices that are set on a world market. For these reasons, increased drilling alone will not provide a long-term solution to this serious problem, nor will it provide short-term price relief. You may be interested to know, however, that the laws prohibiting offshore oil drilling in many parts of the Outer Continental Shelf expired on September 30, 2008.

The Senate is sure to consider legislation regarding our Nation’s energy policy during 111th Congress. As this critical work continues, please be assured that I will keep your views on the Pickens Plan closely in mind. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey"
United States Senator

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