(Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire)
WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the House floor this evening on the American Clean Energy and Security Act. She commended the work and leadership of Chairmen Henry Waxman, Ed Markey, Charles Rangel, and Collin Peterson. The bill passed in the House by a vote of 219 to 212.
On the floor, the Speaker said: "No matter how long this Congress wants to talk about it, we cannot hold back the future. And so, in order to move on with the future, I want to yield back my time, submit my statement for the record, and urge my colleagues to vote for this important legislation. And when you do, just remember these four words for what this legislation means: jobs, jobs, jobs, and jobs. Let's vote for jobs."
The following are the remarks that the Speaker submitted to the Congressional Record:
"Madam Speaker, today the House has an opportunity to pass historic and transformative legislation: the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
"I would like to acknowledge the authors of the legislation: -- Chairman Waxman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce -- Chairman Markey of the Select Committee on Energy Security and Climate Change "I would also like to acknowledge: -- Chairman Collin Peterson of the Agriculture Committee for bringing the priorities of America's farmers to this bill -- And Chairman Rangel who helped ensure that this bill is fiscally responsible and fully paid for.
"And I would like to acknowledge the many staff who worked so hard on this legislation.
"In his Inaugural Address, President Obama called upon us to, 'harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.' One week and one day later, we did just that. We passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - the single largest investment in history in clean energy - with over $69 billion for new investments in clean energy.
"Shortly thereafter, we passed the omnibus spending bill, with significant investments in advanced energy research and the labs and equipment necessary to perform the next generation of advanced energy research.
"We passed the budget, which included a 10 percent increase in investment in clean energy and energy efficiency.
"This was building upon the work of the last Congress: -- The Farm Bill was the first in history to include a real investment in energy independence, with over $1 billion to leverage renewable energy industry investments in new technologies and new feedstocks.
