Jami Westerhold

March 16, 2007

Americans can barely open a paper without seeing some type of an article on global warming. With extreme weather patterns and increasing scientific support, the United States government is beginning to take the global warming issue seriously.

On March 8, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.Res.202, a measure that funded its committees through the end of the 110th Congress. The resolution formally created the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and gave it a budget of $3,725,467. The House has a history of creating select committees to focus on crucial issues, which will raise profile of global warming in Congress, media, and the public eye. The new Select Committee was approved with a bipartisan vote of 269 to 150 and will be chaired by Congressman Ed Markey a Democrat from Massachusetts.

Although the Energy Independence and Global Warming Select Committee will not have legislative jurisdiction, this Committee will hold hearing and investigations locally, nationally, and globally to coordinate the information on global warming. With this information, the Select Committee recommends policies, strategies, and technologies to reduce dependence on foreign energy and to prevent global warming. These recommendations may take shape in proposing new legislation to the House and supporting other bills. One new legislative action that Speaker Nancy Pelosi hopes the Committee proposes is the creation of "Energy Independence Day," coinciding with Independence Day on July 4.

Pelosi has received a bit of criticism for the decision to create the new Committee. Some lawmakers view this action as a way to weaken the influence of veteran lawmakers, such as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell of Michigan. Dingell is known for guarding the interests of automakers. Dingell stated that expected global warming legislation to move through his committee, but that it was only one of many priorities for his committee. He plans to take his time with the issue by holding extensive hearings before taking any action.

Concerned that Dingell would restrict progress on global warming, the House approved the Committee and the newly appointed members are determined to address global warming properly. The appointed members have a solid history of supporting global climate change legislation. The committee chair, Ed Markey, stated that Congress "lost a decade watching the President and the Republican leadership play the politics of climate change denial; now it is time to play catch-up, before it is too late."

Sources:

House Res. 202 (Mar. 8, 2007), available at http://www.gop.gov/UploadedFiles/Legislative Digest - HRes 202.pdf.

Congressional Bills: H.R.1302(ih); H.R.620(ih); S.208(is); S.309(is); S.485(is); S.489 (is); S.642(is); available at 110th Congress Catalog, GPO Access, http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/BillBrowse.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&wrapperTemplate=all110bills_wrapper.html&billtype=all.

Monisha Bansal, House Creates Global Warming Committee, CNSNews.com, Mar. 8, 2007, http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200703/POL20070308c.html.

Brendan Daly, Pelosi Announces Members of Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Speaker of House Newsroom (Mar. 9, 2007), http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0091.

For more Information:

Juliet Eilperin & Michael Grunwald, Internal Rifts Cloud Democrats' Opportunity on Warming, Wash. Post, Dec. 23, 2007, available at .

Brendan Daly, Pelosi Announces the Creation of Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Speaker of House Newsroom (Jan. 18, 2007), http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0038.

Steven Mufson, House Repeals Tax Break for Big Oil, Wash. Post, Jan. 19, 2007, A04, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011801386_pf.html.

Pelosi Reveals Who's Who on Global Warming Panel, Wash. Post, Mar. 12, 2007, A11, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101044.html.