On Friday, The American Clean Energy & Security Act (Waxman-Markey) is coming up for a House vote. Gore’s job was to rally the foot soldiers and enlist their help in passing the legislation, which he acknowledged could come down to a narrow margin. “This bill isn’t the last word, but it needs to be the first word,” Gore said firmly. “It’s important to send a signal around the world that the U.S. is serious about climate change. Now is the time -- before world leaders gather in Copenhagen this December to begin to solve the climate crisis.”
At home, the Waxman-Markey bill will boost the economy and create jobs in every state, said the former vice president and Nobel laureate. This bill and the stimulus package are the foundation for creating 1.7 million new jobs in the U.S. and improving opportunities for low-income families, he said, besides achieving reductions in greenhouse gases the scientists say are necessary. Although the opposition has been distributing misinformation about what the bill would cost, Gore said the Congressional Budge Office has determined the cost would be the same as a postage stamp a day for the average household.
Hailing the bill as “one of the most important pieces of legislation ever introduced to Congress,” he has said it carries the moral equivalence of the civil rights legislation of the 1960s and the Marshall Plan of the late 1940s. “By re-powering America with a transition to a clean energy economy and ending our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels, which is the common thread running through all three of these crises, this bill will simultaneously address the climate crisis, the economic crisis and the national security threats that stem from our dependence on foreign oil,” Gore had told the subcommittee on energy and environment in April.
Tonight his message was one of urgency as he implored activists to stay on the phone line and record a message for their representatives.
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