Paul Tonko

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Well, having come from NYSERDA--you mentioned my role in the New York State Assembly as energy chair for 15 years, but then I moved over to NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, where I served as president and CEO. I saw firsthand that research and development equaled economic recovery. It provided many, many opportunities to advance science and technology and create jobs from the trades on over to the inventor and innovator, the engineering groups that would design specific new products and then deploy them where they were success stories into the commercial sector. I think that when we talk about these opportunities we're reminded of a report that came out in 2005 from National Academies and it was entitled, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. And let me just read the three basic categories that they thought were of the most meaningful path that America should follow: investment in basic research; innovation as the path to reducing our dependence on foreign oil; and improving science, technology, engineering, and math education. Now, right there in a nutshell is a major impetus to a new era of job creation. We can bring about a much more vibrant outcome for the manufacturing sector simply by retrofitting new energy innovation to that workplace, providing for, if not cheaper, smarter outcomes, which then wins at the global marketplace. I think that our manufacturing sector can grow great potential with an energy revolution, not only in the direct impact of jobs created in that arena, but the ripple effect that then circulates into and impacts into many of our sectors of the economy. I looked at a project when I was still in the State Assembly to work with our dairy farms in upstate New York. They were impacted by prices that simply were very marginal. They did not give them much of a profit, if one at all, and we needed to, in New York State, look at ways to cut the costs of milk production for our dairy farmers. I thought, well, they're dealing with a perishable product, they have energy costs that are sometimes difficult to manage because they can't deal with peak and off peak necessarily, with Mother Nature taking hold in their operations. And so we worked on energy retrofits with Cornell University, with NYSERDA, with the local utility, and with the farming community, with farm representatives, the farm bureau. We came up with programs in a demonstration project that saved somewhere between 30 and 40, if not greater, percent in demand just in that setting of our dairy farm operation. We then moved to some 70 farms from the success of that demonstration, and all were very pleased with the outcome. And without even adjusting the rate, as you had made mention just earlier, they paid much less for their bill because the demand was reduced significantly, and they're dealing again with a perishable product that has a heating and cooling process, that is a costly one in terms of energy consumption. So here we created a much stronger outcome, and believe it or not, with that more comfortable setting, that because of some of the fan work that had been done to cool the barn and, again, regulate the energy consumption, you had a more comfortable setting for the herd, and production per cow was greater. So all around it was a win-win-win situation, and we were utilizing a state-of-the-art, shelf-ready technology. Think of the many other applications that are out there looming that we can then advance through resources that come when we put together a system that checks the pollution impact on our environment and produces through that, resources that grow jobs, grow opportunities, grow discovery, grow innovation, grow demand reduction, and then move forward to creating this all-American agenda that impacts, finally, the American family in very positive measure.

Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Congressman Blumenauer. And it is with great interest that I join you because I listened to your commentary about the important factors associated with this transformation in our economy. I think it is so important for us to focus on the fact that as we grow American power, as we grow energy sources that are American produced, we are creating American jobs for the benefit of American working families. So this is a totally American agenda where we can grow that energy security and advance great opportunities in the workplace as we enhance our environment and provide for sounder energy policy. You know, I am reminded that over the last 50 years, the major growth, over \1/2\ of the growth of our Nation's GDP, is related to developing and emerging technologies that were then adopted into all sorts of institutional outcomes. That investment, that growth in our GDP, explained by emerging technologies only required a 3 percent, on average, investment in R&D; 3 percent of our GDP was invested in R&D. So when we think of that research and development opportunity at that mere 3-percent level, and to recognize that that meant well over \1/2\ of our growth in the Nation's GDP, that is a powerful statement. Imagine what happens when we are willing to invest a greater amount into R&D. I am tremendously encouraged by the Obama administration because of its embracing the important role that science can play, treating science and technology as vibrant components in our comeback as an economy. We also know that as we look at history, we can understand fully that it was technology and reform and transformation and innovation that produced the success stories here in this country. As we moved from an internal combustion engine to the development of electricity, we created an unprecedented amount of jobs. As we developed the automobile, it created millions of manufacturing jobs. And certainly millions more were employed by building those power plants and dams and our Nation's electric grid. So just as we moved into that era of job creation and job enhancement and technology advancements, think of the green-power revolution that can really transform how we address our economy. There can be no strong comeback without our investment in energy. And I think that's what this is about: American jobs producing American power for America's families.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The GIVE Act before us responds to President Obama's call to service for our Nation's volunteers to help move our country forward by launching a new era of service during these challenging economic times. Certainly, there are many new corps established in this legislation; amongst them, Clean Energy as a corps. Those members will be able to work in their given communities providing valuable services that range from retrofitting housing for low-income households to improving their energy efficiency outcomes; to building energy-efficient housing in low-income communities; conducting energy audits for low-income households; and to installing renewable energy technologies, amongst other things. This energy improvement will be an empowerment to the given communities. I am fortunate to have thriving programs in my Capital District region of New York State. Amongst them are the Self Advocacy Association of New York, conducted through the auspices of an organization in Schenectady. They deal with those of the developmental disability community that enable them to provide for self-advocacy for people with disabilities. Also, the Capital District RSVP, which places retired people in projects that address the needs of their community, where we have over 1,200 volunteers providing over 250,000 hours of service. Mr. Chair, this is an exciting bit of legislation. It allows us to utilize volunteer power that has been a tradition with this Nation. It dispels loneliness and despair, it builds a sense of dignity and hope, and certainly, as they do that, they will deliver services, very valuable services, to the doorstep of their communities. Let it be said that volunteers are the muscle of America.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Congressman. I think it's absolutely important that we move forward with progressive policy in the energy area. I chaired the Energy Committee in the New York State Assembly for 15 years. And, you're right, went on to serve as president and CEO at NYSERDA, where we focused on renewables, efficiency, research and development. The investment that we saw was tremendously powerful to the economy and where we worked on several projects that really promoted efficiency and conservation measures. What I think is important to note here is that this President, this administration, has shared a vision with a laser-sharp focus and shared with a very direct boldness about the opportunity we have now as a Nation. We have witnessed the last several years of conflicts in the Middle East, and so many believe that was over the commodity of oil. We know that that fossil-based dependency pollutes the environment and that we have an opportunity here to not only address our future and job creation, but our environment and greening up the outcomes, leaving not only this generation, but certainly those to follow much cleaner air to breathe and a stronger sense of environment-friendly policy. Where I think the significance comes here is that we can grow our energy independence. We can strengthen that outcome by reducing what is a gluttonous dependency on fossil-based fuels, oftentimes imported and from some of the most troubled spots in the world that have unstable governments. And it's why we were drawn into a conflict, I think, because of our dependency on that area for our energy commodities. While we can reduce that dependence on fossil-based fuels, we can strengthen our energy security, which is a good thing. It's a great bit of policy initiative that we should have pull us along this roadway of progressive politics as it relates to energy generation and energy usage. We also, when we reduce that dependency and grow the energy security, we grow and strengthen our national security, which is an important factor in the international concepts. We are able to move forward in a way that I think promotes a much more stable national security outcome for our Nation and generations, again, to follow. So, as we do this, I believe the investments we can make now by the policies that will build an investment in renewables, in shelf-ready opportunities to grow energy efficient outcomes, to retrofit our businesses, to retrofit our farms. We did projects through NYSERDA that spoke favorably, overwhelmingly favorably, to dairy farmers, who are dealing with perishable products, who are dealing with perishable produce, that were dealing with a very important bit of nature. They couldn't avoid at times the peak periods where they could perhaps avoid priciest power. They needed to have some sort of addressing of those situations. What we were able to do is retrofit those dairy farms and allow for them to reduce their energy costs, which allows for them to feed this Nation in a more effective way. So, also, as we create these opportunities through investment and research and development, we are growing significant jobs, tremendous jobs that will call upon the engineer out there, the inventor, the innovator, and we know that there's a great career ladder we can build there. We are investing in the trades because the trading out and the retrofit of these systems, they will maintain, operate, and repair these situations so that, again, job creation galore here that can really allow us to breathe freer in terms of creating the energy that we need and how we use that energy. What I also would make mention of is that R&D, research and development, should be seen as economic development. I believe that by investing in that sort of future, by creating the funds that will allow for a blueprint for our energy future, that allows us to take that intellectual capacity as a Nation, to take our brain power as Americans, and put it to work so that we can deploy these success stories into the commercial sector, where we can do cutting edge, where we already have ready opportunities, they need to be inserted into the outcomes here in the States, and we also can move forward with many, many new opportunities in this energy-driven, innovative economy that is so boldly expressed by this President and certainly by Speaker Pelosi and the leadership of this House. So I see a great opportunity here for this Nation to respond favorably to the energy needs of this country, to do it much more independent of reliance on some of the most troubled spots in the world, and doing it in a way that creates significant career ladders for people across the strata of job opportunities, from trades on up to those who hold bachelor's and master's and doctorate degrees that can assist this Nation.

Mr. TONKO. Certainly. As we struggle through these very difficult economic times, job creation, job retention is at the forefront of the work we do. We all talk about it every day. This is a good way that not only grows jobs but grows that energy independence and strengthens the energy outcome, and it does it in an environmentally friendly way. So it's a powerful statement that we can make here as legislators.

Mr. TONKO. Right, Congressman Blumenauer. I'm enthralled by the comment made by Congressman Inslee about the auto industry and the work that we can be doing on investing in new ideas and new concepts. Just in our recovery package that we did a few weeks ago was a major investment in advanced battery technology. That advanced battery technology can speak to not only transportation sectors in our economy, but to energy generation. And it may hold the secret to an awful lot of progress that we can make. If we continue to invest in that R&D, I'm convinced we will have the automobile of the future. Also, when we look at some of these investments in R&D, they will incorporate other sectors of the economy like the ag economy, where you can diversify that ag economy to grow the produce that would be required to go forward with some of the fuels that we can create simply by using cellulosic formulas that include perhaps switch grass or soy products or whatever and go forward in a smart way that will look at the best outcomes that we can encourage by the government, based on energy required to create new energy, impacts on the ag, impact on environment, do those quantifiable studies and then determine what path to follow. But we can do this with a great degree of skill and analysis that will move us into a new generation of thinking. But it takes the boldness, It takes that major step forward. To your point about some of the opportunities with renewables, we are bringing in all aspects of opportunity from R&D from the highest technical sense on to the trades that will install these facilities and allow us to move forward with a smart grid to connect all of this, the smart metering concepts that we need to invest in so that we are using the power at the right time and making those consumer judgments that are in our best interests individually or household-wise and also collectively in a way that has the smartest energy consumers possible with the choices being placed before us and the job creation that is embraced by this sort of an agenda. So I am really encouraged by the work that is being done in this House. I know that in a caucus that we have created that deals with sustainable energy and environment outcomes, that is a powerful place to share these ideas and grow the synergy that will produce the policies that take us forward.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the importance of the National School Breakfast Program and to express my support for the resolution by the gentlelady from Wisconsin that we passed this evening. The 100 percent Federally funded school breakfast programs, particularly where breakfast is served in the classroom, have shown to increase student attentiveness, academic performance, and decrease tardiness and disciplinary referrals. Classroom breakfast programs are important because they reduce the stigma of receiving free or reduced price breakfasts and increase participation in school breakfast programs. In my district, the Troy City School District has adopted a grab-and-go program where kids can get their breakfast right in their hallways and bring it into the classroom to eat with their peers. These schools, particularly School 2, 12 and 14, and the Carroll Hill School, have all seen their breakfast participation numbers rise to 50 to 60 percent of all students in their schools, where the average elsewhere in New York State is only 20 percent. I hope that we can do around the country what Troy City School District has done in my congressional district. In these tough economic times, we need to ensure that more students are taking advantage of school breakfast programs, and breakfast in the classroom has been shown to do just that.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Two and a third centuries ago, before our United States Capitol had even been imagined, the Founders were asking a question we hear in the District of Columbia to this day, and that is, how can we cut out a city from its home State and put it under the direct rule of Congress without violating the principles that the Revolutionary War fought to secure? James Madison argued that there was only one way around that hypocrisy, ``to provide for the rights and the consent of the citizens inhabiting it.'' And further, its people ``will have had their voice in the election of the government which is to exercise authority over them.'' That was the intent of our Founders. Those were the conditions for this District to exist, but they have not been upheld. 233 years later, of all the world's democracies, there is only one national capital without full voting rights. Washington, D.C., this city full of monuments to democracy, holds that distinction. At last, that's on the verge of changing. Soon this House will vote on a bill to give the District of Columbia a voting Member of the House of Representatives. I urge my colleagues in this Chamber to finally give the people of Washington, D.C. a vote in this great body.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Chairman, I represent the capital region of New York State, an area which, led by Thomas Edison, pioneered a revolution in electricity which changed our society a century ago. I believe it is with that spirit that we look to take bold action with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This package contains some $4 billion for job training, which is essential to preparing the American workers to compete for the jobs of the future. It also contains $2 billion for alternative energy research, and $11 billion to develop and build the next generation energy grid. These are crucial investments that will create high-paying jobs right now and make our country more secure and energy efficient into the future. In these difficult economic times, we must not forget our commitment to our children and grandchildren. The stimulus bill will provide over $140 billion to make sure that our education system can move forward into the 21st century. We must act now and boldly to move our country in the right direction and to provide relief for our overburdened working families.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 21, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment No. 7 Offered by Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania