Senate begins work on energy and climate bills with hearing today

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee is holding a hearing today on energy and climate legislation (you can watch the hearing on C-SPAN 2). Obama Administration officials, including EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, have already testified. Here are some excerpts:

Jackson:

Clean energy is to this decade and the next what the Space Race was to the 1950s and ‘60s, and America is behind. Governments in Asia and Europe are ahead of the United States in making aggressive investments in clean-energy technology. American businesses need strong incentives and investments now in order for this nation to lead the 21st Century global economy.

Chu:

Denial of the climate change problem will not change our destiny; a comprehensive energy and climate bill that caps and then reduces carbon emissions will.

America has the opportunity to lead a new industrial revolution of creating sustainable, clean energy. We can sit on the sidelines and deny the scientific facts, or we can get in the game and play to win.