Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), released a statement in reaction to the announcement by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he will chair the newly-created Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The select committee will conduct hearings and investigations, gather information, and develop recommendations in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming. Markey, who is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees, has been asked by the Speaker to serve as Chairman of the bipartisan, fifteen-member Select Committee.

“We are facing an issue that will test the capacity of democracy to respond in time to affect the fate of the planet.  We have the technology, the ingenuity, and the experience to reverse the inexorable buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to find the consensus needed to move boldly and quickly.  I am honored that the Speaker has asked me to help make the response of the 110th Congress proportionate to the threat,” Markey said.

“Representative Sensenbrenner, who has been named Ranking Member of the Select Committee,  is an articulate and knowledgeable Member of Congress and I look forward to working with him in order to shine a bright light on these most critical of issues through vigorous hearings and investigations.”

From 1985-1987, Markey chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy Conservation and Power Subcommittee, and from 1980-1984 he chaired the House Interior Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.  He has led the effort over the last four Congresses to raise the fuel efficiency in the American passenger vehicle fleet.  Markey has also been the lead House Democrat protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling, and he has introduced the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act, which would permanently designate the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge as wilderness.  During the House-Senate conference on the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Markey fought for adoption of climate change legislation and approval of a renewable portfolio standard.

During the course of his long career in Congress, Markey has numerous energy and environmental achievements.

• Markey was one of the principal authors of H.R. 6, which passed the House on January 18, seeking to recover $14 billion in unnecessary tax incentives to the oil and gas industry and redirecting those funds to energy efficiency and clean, renewable, alternative fuels.
•  He led the effort to pass the landmark 1987 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act which has eliminated the need for hundreds of large new electric power plants by setting minimum energy efficiency standards for major energy-consuming household appliances such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and washer-dryers.  These huge efficiency gains have reduced energy demand dramatically, preserved thousands of acres of precious land and water, and prevented the emission of millions of tons of harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 
•  Markey has also led the effort over the last four Congresses to raise the minimum fuel efficiency standards of cars and light trucks sold in America.  The passenger vehicle standards, initially adopted in 1975, have not been increased for more than 30 years, and the fleet-wide average has declined as SUVs have replaced cars.  
• Markey has led the fight in the House to prevent oil and gas drilling in the federally-protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The oil and gas drilling activity on the North Slope already leads to greenhouse gas emissions in our Arctic region that exceed the emissions of Washington DC.
• During the House-Senate conference on the Energy Policy Act, Markey fought for adoption of climate change legislation and approval of a renewable portfolio standard. 
• Markey authored a provision in the Clean Air Act that ensured that energy efficiency measures were included in the cap-and-trade system adopted to reduce emissions that cause acid rain.

For more information on Rep. Markey’s work on environmental and energy policy, please go to http://markey.house.gov