Indiana Rep. Baron Hill in the middle of energy debate

Clark County

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May 19, 2009

House committee could decide on measure by week’s end

By DANIEL SUDDEATH The News and Tribune Tue May 19, 2009, 01:36 PM EDT

A committee that includes 9th District Rep. Baron Hill could decide on the American Clean Energy and Security Act by the end of the week.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee received the measure Friday and began combing through it Monday.

Hill, D-Ind., has been targeted by organizations both in favor and opposing the legislation, which if passed by Congress would for the first time limit gas emissions believed to cause global warming at the industrial level.

Hill spokeswoman Katie Moreau said Hill is concerned with how the bill could impact Indiana’s economy, specifically employment.

“He’s been very open about it,” Moreau said. “He understands that this is a problem and he wants to do something about it. But it’s asking a lot of people in a time of such economic trouble.”

Representatives on the committee serve states that would be touched in different ways by the bill, Moreau said. That could make it difficult to find a consensus. She added there already have been at least 500 Republican-led amendments to the measure since its Friday introduction.

LuCinda Hohmann, field organizer with Environment America, stated in a news release that the measure would reduce U.S. global warming emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by 2050. She claims the bill would spark job growth and help the economy, which is the opposite of what opponents of the measure believe.

“Now is the time to replace the dirty, polluting energy sources of the past with clean, homegrown energy sources of today,” she said. “In addition to reducing air pollution and limiting the U.S. contribution to global warming, creating a clean energy economy will increase our security and help put Americans back to work in clean green jobs.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has been asked to supersede Congress and control emissions through the existing Clean Air Act by parties that include the governor of New York.

President Barack Obama said Saturday he supports the new measure because it could limit dependence on foreign oil and reduce pollution. But some industries and Republicans see the legislation differently. They feel the measure would increase utility costs and further damage a struggling economy.

Bryan Brendle, director of energy and resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, told the EPA that the Clean Air Act would “pre-empt ongoing congressional debate on an issue that would impact all sectors of a struggling economy.”

Hohmann said the amendments already suggested for the measure would demean true clean energy legislation.

“Given the huge opportunity before us, the science on global warming and the dire state of our economy, these are delays that neither the environment nor the economy can afford,” she said.

— Reports from The Associated Press contributed to this article.

SO YOU KNOW

• According to Environment America, improved building standards through the American Clean Energy and Security Act would save the country $25 billion a year by 2030.