Pelosi To Re-establish Climate Change Committee

On November 21, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced she would reauthorize the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming for the 111th Congress. Chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the panel held over 50 hearings on the impacts of climate change in many sectors, from national security to job creation. While the committee does not have legislative authority, it has the role "to investigate, study, make findings, and develop recommendations on policies, strategies, technologies and other innovations, intended to reduce the dependence of the United States on foreign sources of energy and achieve substantial and permanent reductions in emissions and other activities that contribute to climate change and global warming." (see Section 4(c) of H. Res. 202, approved by the House on March 8, 2007) Some believed Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-CA) replacement of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee meant the Select Committee was no longer necessary, given Rep. Waxman's strong support for reducing US emissions. In response, Speaker Pelosi said, "We do have need for one more term because their work is not finished. We don't have the climate change legislation that I had hoped we might be closer to at this point." She added "The committee serves [as] a tremendous intellectual resource for me."

For additional information see:

http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases_2008?id=0059#ma...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/21/politics/politico/thecrypt/mai...
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/17194