Ed Markey

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. At this point, I will yield to myself for 30 additional seconds. This commercialization focus program complements existing R&D initiatives. Strong, long-term support for basic and applied research is critical to developing the scientific breakthroughs needed to meet our energy challenges, but additional focus on commercialization will help ensure that existing innovations and those further down the pipeline find a pathway to the market. It creates the link between R&D and economic development and job creation. Without it, I do not believe America can win in this sector. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering today, along with the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps), would add a new R&D program specifically focused on increasing our Nation's capacity to turn new innovations into new jobs. A clean energy consortium would be regionally based, selected by the Secretary of Energy through a competitive process, and include research universities, national labs, industry, and other State and nongovernmental organizations with expertise in clean energy development. Moving to commercialize innovations in the clean energy sector is critical to our ability to compete for jobs with China and India. The faster we bring clean energy technologies to market, the faster we end our addiction to foreign oil from the Middle East. Our amendment will connect professors with producers, inventors with investors to move energy innovations out of the lab and into the factory. Unlike research in biotech and defense, technology developed through energy R&D must break into a deeply entrenched market at a competitive cost in order to be successful. We need policies that can help overcome the valley of death where great ideas frequently stall before they have reached the critical proof-of-concept stage. That's what we do in this amendment. We have worked with business, universities, and venture capital groups in developing this legislation. It has received endorsements from TechNet. The National Venture Capital Association has endorsed this amendment. The Clean Economy Networks, the companies across this country that want to focus on this energy sector, create millions of new jobs want this as part of the plan that we put together to make sure that it's not just research; it's research that turns into jobs rapidly in our country.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. May I inquire of the Chair, how much time is remaining?

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield myself the balance of my time. Again, it is just to make this point that we must find a way in our country to have a plan. In China, on Monday they decide to do something, on Friday it starts to happen. We need a plan. We need a plan to put together our inventors and our investors. We need a plan that puts together our professors with our producers. We need to find a way in which we telescope the timeframe it takes to create jobs in solar and wind and all of these new industries that have the potential of creating 2 million new jobs in our country or millions of jobs in China. That's our choice. And if we don't take this opportunity, then young Americans are going to wonder in a few more years why we didn't put together a plan. That's what this amendment is. It's a pilot project, but it is one that will then have to be modeled in area after area around this country to ensure that we move fast to capture this renewable energy revolution that is very rapidly going to overtake this planet in the same way that the dot-com revolution did so in the 1990s. Vote ``yes'' on the Markey-Capps amendment.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. So how much time is remaining?

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield 30 seconds to the gentlelady from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the chairman of the Science Committee, Mr. Gordon.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I am now the last speaker, and I am going to reserve the balance of my time pending the completion.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Could the Chair please inform us of how much time is left.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Would it be possible for me to ask for the gentleman from Texas to draw down his time a little bit more before we come to the end of the speakers on the Democratic side?

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 245, I inadvertently voted ``no,'' but intended to vote ``yes.''

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I support the gentleman's amendment. Home Star must be funded at a level that would save or create 168,000 jobs, save energy in 3 million homes, and save consumers $9.2 billion over the next decade. These savings will not be realized if the authorization is decreased through earmarks. I urge my colleagues to support the Flake amendment. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I rise in support of the Bachmann amendment.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield myself 2 minutes. Madam Chair, for nearly 20 years, the Energy Star program has been raising awareness about energy efficiency and helping consumers reduce their energy bills. And I share my colleague's astonishment at the March GAO report that showed how easy it was to obtain Energy Star certification for products that didn't even exist. We need to do all we can to restore the integrity of the Energy Star program. And I want to assure all of the Members that we have common cause in achieving that goal. But I also similarly want to assure all Members that no similar danger exists for waste and fraud in the Home Star program as opposed to the Energy Star program. First, only real, proven energy-saving technologies are included in Home Star. A group of technical experts provided extensive input to establish a specific list of Silver Star products. Second, in contrast to Energy Star, which relied on self-certification of products, self- certification, the Home Star program uses an independent third-party quality assurance process to ensure that work is performed as promised. Finally, Home Star relies on a professional and certified workforce to install energy efficiency measures. Under Silver Star, contractors must be licensed, insured, and warranted. Under Gold Star, contractors must be certified by the Building Performance Institute and other reputable organizations. We must ensure that Home Star lives up to its promises.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak).

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Chair, again, let me summarize. Home Star is a 2-year energy efficiency program that will save $9.2 billion in consumer energy costs, create or save 168,000 jobs when our country desperately needs an increase in the number of people who are working, and increase energy independence across the Nation by sending a signal that we are going to use new technologies, more efficient technologies to back out that oil that we import. Home Star's Silver Program is a 1-year program to provide rebates for energy efficient materials and installation. It will jump-start manufacturing, retail, and construction jobs. Home Star's Gold Star program is a 2-year program that allows homeowners to receive rebates for making their homes at least 20 percent more energy efficient, and that includes any measure approved through an energy audit. Gold Star does not pick winners and losers. We just want the most efficient technologies to be used to reduce energy consumption in our country. Finally, Home Star offers an energy efficiency loan program. This program will offer low-interest loans to help offset a household's 50 percent share of energy retrofit cost. Again, an all-star cast of supporters. You are not going to see this very often: the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, partnered with the steelworkers, with the communication workers, with the laborers, the utility workers, the transit unions, the sheet metal workers. This is what America needs if we are going to put our country back to work again. We should embrace this in a bipartisan fashion so that we can create a plan for our country to reduce energy consumption while we use American workers to accomplish this goal.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I reserve the balance of my time.