Contact:

Matt Dempsey Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov (202) 224-9797

David Lungren David_Lungren@epw.senate.gov (202)224-5642

Opening Statement of Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

Full Committee hearing entitled, "Legislative Hearing on S. 1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act."

October 29, 2009, 9:30 a.m

Today marks the 3rd, and mercifully last, marathon session on the Kerry-Boxer bill.  Before I address what we've learned about the Kerry-Boxer bill over the last two days, I want to talk about the next steps in the legislative process.

Chairman Boxer, before you move to a markup, the Republicans on this committee think it's reasonable that we get three things: 1) a chairman's mark of the bill, which we have-and we thank you for providing it; 2) a score of Kerry-Boxer by the Congressional Budget Office, and 3) a full economic analysis of your bill by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Let me focus for a minute on the EPA analysis.

Madame Chairman, we don't have a full economic analysis.  This isn't just my view.  On Tuesday, Lisa Jackson, the EPA Administrator, when asked whether EPA had conducted a full analysis, she said, very clearly, "No." 

Madame Chairman, I'll cut to the chase: let's work together and with EPA to get the full analysis, as well as the CBO score.  Once we get them, we can proceed to a markup, and take it from there.  I know Sen. Voinovich wanted to address these issues, so I'll move on.

Some in this room, well, maybe everyone in this room, will be surprised to hear that I've been eagerly awaiting this hearing.  We've got an excellent lineup of witnesses.  The Ohio Coal Association, the American Farm Bureau, and the American Trucking Association will explain why Kerry-Boxer threatens jobs and affordable, reliable energy, particularly in rural America.  And we'll hear why the cap-and-trade system in Europe has been a failure.

I know my time is short, so I just want to emphasize the three important things we've learned about Kerry-Boxer over the last two days: It will undermine the global competitiveness of America's manufacturers; it will weaken America's national security; and it's an energy tax that will be paid for by the Heartland. 

So I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses so we can learn even more about this bill.  Thank you Madame Chairman.

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