Obama Urges Passage of House Clean Energy-Climate Bill

President Obama opened his press conference this morning with an explicit endorsement of the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill, which as of yesterday evening was being blocked by rural Democrats who want the USDA, not the EPA, to oversee programs that would "pay farmers to conduct environmentally friendly conservation practices."

Hard to say at the moment if this is a direct response to calls for him to take personal lead on climate action legislation, like this week's open letter signed by 20 U.S. climate experts.

Stay tuned to see if or how this shifts the situation in the House of Representatives.
Whups -- the situation shifted late late last night -- read my next post.

The president's comments this morning, as prepared:

This week, the House of Representatives is moving ahead on historic legislation that will transform the way we produce and use energy in America. It is legislation that will finally spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet.

This energy bill will create a set of incentives that will spur the development of new sources of energy, including wind, solar, and geothermal power. It will also spur new energy savings, like efficient windows and other materials that reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer.

These incentives will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. And that will lead to the development of new technologies that lead to new industries that could create millions of new jobs in America - jobs that cannot be shipped overseas.

At a time of great fiscal challenges, this legislation is paid for by the polluters who currently emit the dangerous carbon emissions that contaminate the water we drink and pollute the air we breathe. It also provides assistance to businesses and communities as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies.

This legislation is extraordinarily important for our country, and has taken a great effort on the part of many over the course of months...

We all know why this is so important. The nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy. That is what this legislation seeks to achieve - it is a bill that will open the door to a better future for this nation. And that is why I urge members of the House to come together and pass it.

Related:

Colin Peterson, Climate Villain: Big Ag aims its pitchfork at historic climate legislation (Grist)

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Image: Light through storm clouds over White House, June 9, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)