Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

CONTACT: Alexis Marks or Mara Lee

(202) 225-7163

Today, Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) will participate in the second day of the Energy and Commerce Committee's hearings on "The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009."  This comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation will create jobs, help end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and combat global warming.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) is a comprehensive approach to America's energy policy that charts a new course towards a clean energy economy.  The draft legislation includes Congresswoman Matsui's Smart Planning for Smart Growth Act (H.R. 1780), which aligns infrastructure and land use planning with greenhouse gas reduction goals to preserve resources and fight climate change.

"Transportation accounts for 30 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere each year.  Therefore, effective climate change legislation must include a transportation component if we are going to achieve the emission reductions we need in order to halt global warming," stated Rep. Matsui.  "Congress has already required greater efficiency from our cars and trucks, and now we must promote better land use planning in order to make our communities more livable while working to reduce harmful pollution."

According to recent analysis performed by the Center for Clean Air Policy, using smart growth, improved transportation choices, and transportation pricing measures could reduce per-capita vehicle miles traveled nationwide by 10 percent.  This equates to a reduction of at least 145 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (which by itself is 6 percent of the total 2030 goal contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act) and creates a net economic benefit of $198 per ton of carbon dioxide saved in places like Sacramento.  The Matsui Smart Planning for Smart Growth provision (Section 222 of the recently-released draft legislation) requires states and metropolitan planning organizations to create regional plans designed to generate emissions reductions and cost savings from the transportation sector by reducing per-capita vehicle miles traveled.

"I am pleased that the Energy and Commerce Committee's climate change legislation builds off the positive land-use model being perfected in the Sacramento region.  Sacramento's regional Blueprint is a fine example of how individual communities across our country can achieve much-needed emissions reductions by aligning their land-use policies with greenhouse gas-reduction goals.  The inclusion of my legislation in the American Clean Energy and Security Act will give larger communities like Sacramento the incentives they need to grow and develop in a way that is sensitive to global warming," stated Rep. Matsui.

"Congresswoman Matsui's groundbreaking legislation will significantly advance states' efforts to reduce transportation-caused greenhouse gas emissions and broaden the range of low-cost travel and living options to their residents," said Transportation for America Director James Corless, which is a broad-based public coalition of organizations working for 21st century transportation investments.  "Matsui's bill marks a significant step forward and builds on the groundbreaking Blueprint program in Rep. Matsui's hometown of Sacramento, California."

Today's witness list is as follows:

Panel 1: "Administration Views on the ACES Discussion Draft"

·        The Honorable Lisa Jackson, Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency

·        The Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary, United States Department of Energy

·        The Honorable Ray LaHood, Secretary, United States Department of Transportatio 

Panel 2: "United States Climate Action Partnership Views on the ACES Discussion Draft"         

·        Mr. Charles Holliday, Jr., Chairman, DuPont

·        Mr. Red Cavaney, Senior Vice President for Government & Public Affairs, ConocoPhillips

·        Mr. Jim Rogers, Chairman, President and CEO, Duke Energy Corp.

·        Dr. Frances Beinecke,  President, Natural Resources Defense Council

·        Ms. Meg McDonald, Director, Global Issues, Alcoa Inc.

·        Mr. David Crane, President and CEO, NRG Energy, Inc.  

Panel 3: "Additional Views on the ACES Discussion Draft"

·        Mr. Paul N. Cicio, President, Industrial Energy Consumers of America

·        Myron Ebell, Director, Energy and Global Warming Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute

·        Mr. David Kreutzer, Senior Policy Analyst in Energy Economics and Climate Change, The Heritage Foundation

·        Dr. Steven Hayward, F.K Weyerhaeuser Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

·        Mr. John Fetterman, Mayor, Braddock, Pennsylvania

·        Mr. Kevin Knobloch, President, Union of Concerned Scientists

·        Dr. Nathaniel Keohane, Director of Economic Policy and Analysis, Environmental Defense Fund

Panel 4: "Green Jobs and Economic Benefits"

·        Ms. Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association

·        Ms. Kate Gordon, Co-Director, Apollo Alliance

·        Mr. David Manning, Vice President, External Affairs, National Grid

·        Mr. Frank Ackerman, Senior Economist, Stockholm Environment Institute- US Center, Tufts University

·        Mr. David Foster, Executive Director, Blue Green Alliance