WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the newly-created Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, today convened the first public meeting of the Select Committee. In the organizational meeting, the bipartisan, 15-member panel voted unanimously to adopt the Select Committee’s rules package for the 110th Congress.

Chairman Markey said, “I am pleased that the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming organized today and adopted the committee’s rules package in an unanimous vote, just two and a half weeks after the committee was established in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote on the House Floor. The Select Committee will now begin to move expeditiously towards addressing the twin challenges of global warming and oil dependence that are facing our nation. The select committee’s broad mandate, as outlined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will allow us to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and make recommendations unconstrained by traditional jurisdictional silos.  We will elevate the profile of these critical issues and help the United States achieve permanent reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil. I look forward to working with the other Members of the Committee to meet this historic challenge.”

For more information on Chairman Markey’s efforts on energy independence and global warming, please see http://markey.house.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2007

CONTACT: Will Huntington
David Moulton
202.225.2836