The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming was a
select committee of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
. It was established March 8, 2007 through adoption of a resolution by a 269–150 vote of the full House.
The committee existed from 2007 to 2011, and was not renewed when the
Republicans gained control of the House for the
112th Congress.
In 2019, the new Democratic majority established a successor committee, the
United States House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis was a select committee established in the 116th United States Congress in 2019 when Democrats regained the majority of the United States House of Representatives. The chair is Congresswoman Kat ...
.
History
![Ed-Markey-June-2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Ed-Markey-June-2010.jpg)
Democratic Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
announced plans to create the select committee on January 18, 2007, soon after Democrats took control of the House following the
2006 elections.
The creation of the committee was criticized by House Republicans, who argued "that the committee was unnecessary or that its budget could be used better by the ethics committee."
[House approves warming committee](_blank)
Associated Press (March 9, 2007). The proposal to create the committee also encountered some skepticism from House Democrats, particularly Chairman
John Dingell
John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...
of the powerful
Energy and Commerce Committee (which has primary jurisdiction over environmental and
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
issues) and Chairman
Charles Rangel
Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...
of the
Ways and Means Committee (which has jurisdiction on any tax legislation aimed at affecting industry behavior). Ultimately, Pelosi was able to reach a compromise with Dingell, wherein the committee was to be advisory in nature, without the legislative authority granted to
standing committees.
Joe Barton
Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south ...
, the
ranking Republican member of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...
, continued to object to the committee's existence, calling it a "platform for some members to grandstand."
[
The committee held 80 ]hearings
In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee.
Description
A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...
and briefings, on topics ranging from climate science
Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stu ...
to the ''Deepwater Horizon'' explosion and subsequent oil spill.[Kate Sheppard]
Republicans kill global warming committee
''Mother Jones'' (January 6, 2011) (reprinted in ''The Guardian'').
The committee played a role in the creation of the 2007 energy act and the 2009 stimulus act (which included 90 billion in spending on green energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
and energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
). Most prominently, the committee played a major role in shaping the 2009 climate bill—the American Clean Energy and Security Act or "Waxman-Markey"—which was passed by the House but never became law due to the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
's refusal to take up the bill.
After Republicans won control of the House in the 2010 election, the new Republican majority in the House (led by the new speaker, John Boehner of Ohio) decided to kill the committee, resulting in criticism from environmentalists and climate researchers.
Jurisdiction
The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming conducted hearings on energy independence
Energy independence is independence or autarky regarding energy resources, energy supply and/or energy generation by the energy industry.
Energy dependence, in general, refers to mankind's general dependence on either primary or secondary ene ...
and climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
issues. The committee lacked the authority to draft legislation, but worked with the House standing committees with jurisdiction over climate change issues and developed recommendations on legislative proposals. Speaker Pelosi indicated she would have liked committees with jurisdiction over energy, environment and technology policy to report legislation on these issues to the full House by July 4, 2007.
Members, 111th Congress
The select committee was reestablished for the 111th Congress pursuant to . On January 14, 2009, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reappointed Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...
of and James Sensenbrenner
Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (; born June 14, 1943) is an American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the 9th district until 2003). He is a member of the Republican Party.
...
of Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
as Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the committee.
See also
* Climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
* Climate change policy of the United States
The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China, and ...
* Effects of global warming
The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea lev ...
* Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to ...
* Global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
* Energy resilience
* U.S. Climate Change Science Program
The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) was the program responsible for coordinating and integrating research on global warming by U.S. government agencies from February 2002 to June 2009. Toward the end of that period, CCSP issued 21 separate c ...
References
External links
*
{{United States congressional committees
110th United States Congress
111th United States Congress
Climate change policy in the United States
Energy Independence and Global Warming
Energy Independence and Global Warming