Hill Heat

The next hearing will focus on policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A number of proposals have been referred to the Ways and Means Committee in the 110th Congress (e.g., H.R. 2069 – The Save Our Climate Act of 2007 (Rep. Stark), H.R. 6316 – The Climate MATTERS (Market, Auction, Trust & Trade Emissions Reduction System) Act of 2008 (Rep. Doggett), H.R. 3416 – The America’s Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2007 (Rep. Larson), and H.R. 6186 – The Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act of 2008 (Rep. Markey)).

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Committee on Ways and Means has previously heard testimony that human greenhouse gas emissions are having an adverse impact on our planet’s climate. These witnesses testified that the United States “must enact and implement a comprehensive national mandatory market-based program to progressively and significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that contributes to sustained economic growth.” Since that hearing, a number of legislative proposals have been introduced in the House of Representatives, and been referred to the Ways and Means Committee, that would implement market-based programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

There is bipartisan support for action to address climate change. Senior lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed enacting mandatory economy-wide cap-and-trade programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their proposals, like other proposals introduced in the 110th Congress, would contain revenue measures (e.g., auctions of carbon allowances) that are within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. In addition, many of the market-based climate change proposals include import requirements that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction. This hearing will mark the beginning of the Committee’s work on this important issue.

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on the policy options that are available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and will examine the design choices presented by these options. In particular, the Committee will explore the revenue components of these policy options. The Committee will also explore proposals to promote a comprehensive global effort to address climate change and to ensure a level regulatory playing field for U.S. manufacturers. The hearing will also focus on the potential costs that could be imposed on the U.S. economy if Congress fails to act to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and the economic growth opportunities that would arise from implementing a market-based program to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

09/18/2008 at 10:30AM

Witnesses

Panel I

• John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office
• Francesco Grifo, Ph.D., Director, Science Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists

Panel II

• Deborah Rice, Ph.D., State of Maine, Department of Environmental Protection
• Daniel Parshley, Project Manager, Glynn Environmental Coalition
• Jennifer Sass, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Sharon Kneiss, American Chemistry Council

Panel III

• Marcus Peacock, Deputy Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
• George Gray, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency

09/18/2008 at 10:00AM

Witnesses

• Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Earl Devaney, Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior

09/18/2008 at 10:00AM

Witnesses

• Michael Masters, Masters Capital Management, LLC.
• Robert McCullough, McCullough Research
• Dr. Jeffrey Harris, Chief Economist, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• Blythe Masters, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
• James Newsome, CME Group
• Fadel Gheit, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

09/16/2008 at 02:30PM

Witnesses

• Brian Wynne, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association
• Edward Kjaer, Director, Electric Transportation, Southern California Edison
• Robert Wimmer, National Manager of Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Energy and Environmental Research, Toyota Motor, North America
• Joseph Dalum, Vice President, DUECO
• Thad Balkman, VP of External Relations, Phoenix Motorcars

09/16/2008 at 10:00AM

Clean Air-Cool Planet and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a policy discussion to explore how revenues generated through potential climate change legislation can be recycled through the tax code to lower the overall societal cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. During debate of climate legislation on the Senate floor earlier this year, use of generated revenues was a significant area of discussion.

The expert panel will include a Member of Congress who has sponsored climate change legislation that provides for revenue recycling; a senior analyst from the Congressional Budget Office who has written extensively about the design of efficient climate change legislation; a leading academic; and experts from two think tanks.

Panelists:

• Rep. John Larson (D-CT), Member, House Ways and Means Committee
• Terry Dinan, PhD, Senior Advisor for Climate Policy, Congressional Budget Office
• Kenneth P. Green, PhD, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
• Robert Repetto, PhD, Senior Fellow, UN Foundation
• Robert J. Shapiro, PhD, Chairman of Sonecon, LLC; former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs

Continental breakfast will be served.

Please RSVP to Brenda Rogers at (202) 775-8971 or [email protected] with your name, affiliation, phone number and email address.

09/16/2008 at 08:00AM

Witnesses

Panel 1

• John Deutch, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Dan Reicher , Director of Climate Change & Energy Initiatives, Google.Org
• Dr. Daniel Yergin , Chairman, Cambridge Energy Research Associates
• Frank Verrastro, Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Panel 2

• John Krenicki, Vice Chairman, President, and CEO, General Electric Energy Infrastructure
• John Rowe, Chairman and CEO, Exelon Corporation
• James Roberts, CEO, Foundation Coal Corporation
• Douglas Steenland, President and CEO, Northwest Airlines
• Gary Cohn, Co-President, Managing Director, and COO, Goldman Sachs
• Richard Wagoner, Chairman and CEO, General Motors
• Marvin Odum, President, Shell Oil Company

09/12/2008 at 09:30AM

Investment in scientific and technological innovation has been critical to the growth of the U.S. economy. Much of the technology available today to help meet the energy and climate challenges confronting our nation is due to our previous investments in energy and climate research and development (R&D).

Witnesses:

• Dr. Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Dr. Stephen Forrest, Vice President of Research, University of Michigan
• Dr. Jack Fellows, Vice President, University Corporation on Atmospheric Research
• Dr. Daniel Kammen, Professor, UC-Berkley

09/10/2008 at 10:00AM

Many of the consequences of climate change such as warmer winters and shifting rainfall patterns are becoming increasingly apparent here in the United States, but it is in remote reaches of the planet that some of the most rapid and potentially catastrophic changes are occurring. Millions of cubic kilometers of water are locked up in Greenland’s ice sheet, and the data indicate that it is melting at an unexpectedly rapid rate. Substantial melting of Greenland’s glaciers would cause significant sea level rise, affecting the cities and populations that are concentrated near the coast. This briefing will highlight efforts to study changes in the Greenland ice sheet, capture both its beauty and demise and explore the consequences for U.S. citizens as well as people around the globe.

Moderator

• Brendan Kelly, Arctic Natural Sciences Program, National Science Foundation

Panelists

• James Balog, Extreme Ice Survey
• Robert Bindschadler, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Konrad Steffen, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder
• James E. Neumann, Industrial Economics, Incorporated

Limited Space Available

RSVP by Wednesday, September 3 to [email protected] or 202/872-4556. Please provide name, affiliation, phone number, and e-mail address.

09/09/2008 at 12:00PM

Witnesses

• Mr. William Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association
• Andy Darrell, Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund
• Dorothy Dugger, General Manager, Red Rose Transit Authority
• Keith Parker, Chief Executive Officer, Charlotte Area Transit System
• Dave Kilmer, General Manager, Red Rose Transit Authority
• Robert Puentes, Fellow, Brookings Institution

09/09/2008 at 11:42AM