Co-op Voices
Fight for Fair Climate Bill Advances
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Today, June 23rd, I sent Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman a letter stating, on behalf of the NRECA membership, that we will not stand in the way of his climate change legislation, H.R. 2454, when it comes up for a vote in the House of Representatives.
Glenn English
A tremendous amount of work went into bringing us to this milestone.
Climate change legislation won approval by Chairman Waxman’s committee just before Memorial Day. It is an understatement to say I have serious concerns about that version of the bill.
As written, it would have required consumers in most co-op regions—those who need help the most in dealing with the added costs of addressing climate change—to subsidize consumers in areas that need help the least.
It was not a fair deal.
After committee passage, however, CEOs of statewide associations, managers of G&Ts and many others reached out to your members of Congress to alert them to our concerns. I met many times in person and over the phone with Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey.
Chairman Collin Peterson of the Agriculture Committee played a critical role in raising these issues with his colleagues. We discussed our concerns at length, and I shared my suggestions on how the legislation could be improved.
And the effort bore fruit.
I am pleased the most serious concern of fairness we expressed regarding H.R. 2454 has been addressed. And while the bill still falls short of the mark needed to earn our support, I am today calling on directors and staff of all NRECA member systems to not stand in the way of this legislation. I call on each of you to follow the spirit and intent of the agreement we have reached with Chairman Waxman.
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