Last Friday, June 26th, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), crafted through the leadership of Chairmen Henry Waxman and Ed Markey, was passed in the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 212.
Eight Republicans voted yes and 44 Democrats voted no.
The majority of environmental groups are for the bill, including Sierra Club, Natural Resource Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, and The Nature Conservancy, but Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth both took a stand against it.
Greenpeace U.S.A. Deputy Campaigns Director Carroll Muffett issued the following statement:
“Since the Waxman-Markey bill left the Energy and Commerce committee, yet another fleet of industry lobbysists has weakened the bill even more, and further widened the gap between what Waxman-Markey does and what science demands. As a result, Greenpeace opposes this bill in its current form. We are calling upon Congress to vote against this bill unless substantial measures are taken to strengthen it. Despite President Obama’s assurance that he would enact strong, science-based legislation, we are now watching him put his full support behind a bill that chooses politics over science, elevates industry interests over national interest, and shows the significant limitations of what this Congress believes is possible.”
You can view the entire statement here.
Most environmental groups applaud a step towards making the United States more environmentally friendly, even if more steps will need to be taken in the future.
Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts, said it is, “the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country. It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy.”
The Daily Green, a green news community, lays out two great articles, one for the act and one against.
Despite your allegiances, the bill will hit the Senate floor next and needs 60 votes to become a law. Stay tuned for more.
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