Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming: Press Releases
Press Releases
- MARKEY: PRESIDENT THREATENS TO UNDO FUEL ECONOMY DEAL
MARKEY: PRESIDENT THREATENS TO UNDO FUEL ECONOMY DEAL
White House Wants to Reverse Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA Global Warming Tailpipe Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and chief House proponent of raising fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon, deplored the White House’s Statement of Administration Policy on the Energy Bill. The White House threatened to veto the bill unless Congress reverses the landmark Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that validated the authority of the EPA to cut heat-trapping emissions from cars, trucks and SUVs. Such a move would also imperil the efforts of 17 states, including Massachusetts, that have used their Clean Air Act authority to establish clean car programs.
“As delegates from almost 200 nations meet in Bali to lay the groundwork for a treaty to combat global warming, and an energy bill is now on the table that would raise fuel economy standards for America’s vehicles, President Bush has once again shown his utter disregard for the environment, our economy, and the health of our planet,” said Rep. Markey. “By asking Congress to undo the landmark Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the President has effectively thumbed his nose at the rest of the world.
“As every other country in the world debates how best to combat the clear and present danger of rising carbon dioxide emissions, the Bush Administration is still trying to make up its mind about whether carbon dioxide emissions pose a danger at all.”
On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court determined in Massachusetts v. EPA that EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles, and that it must do so if it determined that these emissions endangered public health or welfare.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the President issued an Executive Order on May 14, 2007, directing EPA to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and other agencies in developing any rule covering greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, and EPA staff have been working hard to conduct the necessary technical analysis and craft a rule by the end of this year.
While the Supreme Court decision said that there was no conflict associated with two agencies having authority over motor vehicle regulations, the President is now threatening to veto the entire energy bill on this question—one that has already been asked and answered by the Supreme Court, and one that would also effectively throw out all of the work the President ordered the EPA to do in May.
The Energy Bill passed by the House of Representatives yesterday directs the Department of Transportation to set fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Despite efforts by auto industry supporters to reverse the April Supreme Court decision, the House chose to preserve EPA’s full authority in the bill it passed yesterday.
The White House’s December 6, 2007 Statement of Administration Policy on the Energy Bill states that the energy bill “needs to clarify one agency as the sole entity, after consultation with other affected agencies, to be responsible for a single national regulatory standard for both fuel economy and tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.”
“The Bush Administration is saying to Congress, ‘Please take away the authority I have to cut emissions, so I don’t have to,’” concluded Markey. “It follows years of legal wrangling by the White House to avoid any decisive action on global warming, and now they are willing to take down the entire energy bill with their climate inaction scheme.”
# # # - Markey Travels aEURoeVirtuallyaEUR? to Bali, Indonesia -Online Address Through Second Life Brings Chairman of Global Warming Committee to International Climate Negotiations
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11th, 8:30 PM
Contact: 202-225-4081 office, 202-285-7040 cell
Markey Travels “Virtually” to Bali, Indonesia
Online Address Through Second Life Brings Chairman of Global Warming Committee to International Climate Negotiations
WASHINGTON –Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, has devised a way to participate in the global warming negotiations currently underway in Bali, Indonesia even as he remains in Washington DC to press for passage of the final Energy Bill in Congress.
By harnessing the power of the internet, Markey will deliver an address to the United Nations and the world via the online platform known as Second Life. Using a 3-D animated version of himself (an “avatar”), Chairman Markey will address the conference from a virtual Bali stage provided by One Climate. His speech will be replayed all week at the conference, demonstrating an extremely low carbon way to encourage stronger U.S. government support for climate action.
WHO: Edward Markey’s Avatar, Virtual Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
WHAT: Address to UN Bali Climate Change Conference in Second Life
WHERE: The Internet, from One Climate Island (details to follow)
WHEN: Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 8:30 PM EST
### - Markey: House Delivers Key Energy Bill, Moves Toward Bright Energy Independence Future
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: 202-225-4081 or 202-494-4486 cellMarkey: House Delivers Key Energy Bill, Moves Toward Bright Energy Independence Future
WASHINGTON (December 6, 2007) – Today the House of Representatives passed the Energy Independence and Security Act by a vote of 235 to 181. The bill includes the first fuel economy increase for cars and light trucks in decades, as well as incentives to increase production and use of renewable energy and sets strong new efficiency standards.
Overall, by 2030, the bill will save Americans twice the amount of oil we currently import from the Persian Gulf and cuts U.S. heat-trapping emissions by up to 35 percent of what scientists say is needed to avert the worst impacts of global warming.
Below is the statement of Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming:
“Today marks the dawn of a future with less dependence on foreign oil, more renewable energy, and a safer climate. This bill marks a turning point away from America’s untenable path of reliance on dirty fossil fuels that pollute our planet and link us to dangerous foreign regimes and towards a new energy independence future.
“More than two thousand years ago, oil in the Maccabees’ lamp burned for 8 days instead of just one, marking the miracle of Chanukah. Today, during Chanukah, this bill marks a 21st century milestone involving Middle East oil by using advanced technology to increase the fuel economy of our cars, trucks and SUVs. And it marks an advance in our moral and economic imperative to fight global warming by producing homegrown fuels from plants and waste, and using zero-pollution renewable sources of power.
“Speaker Pelosi and all of my colleagues who worked on and voted for this bill should feel proud today, and the American people should take heart that this Democratic Congress has begun a new direction on energy taken the lead on energy and global warming issues after years of wandering in the Republican desert.” - Letter to Bali: Markey, 10 Committee Chairs Outline for UN the Broad U.S. Political Support for Climate Action
For text of the letter click HERE.
For a PDF copy of the letter click HERE.
WASHINGTON (December 4, 2007) – As the United Nations global warming conference has started in Bali, Indonesia this week, Rep. Edward J. Markey was joined today by 10 House Committee chairmen in sending a letter of climate action support to the United Nations climate change minister, co