Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160618

Taliban are so tear for eight are so terrified that they are not reporting what happens in that area. Guest what we are working on is to make sure that the people trust in their government. For that purpose we have programs like the citizens charter, which builds upon a ,reviously ruled out program the National Solidarity program. And in the areas where the Community Contributed to the to invernment in direct collaboration with the individuals. We are expanding on that. Also some basic administrative support to the communities to more engagement directly with the governments of they can feel confident to be able to on the room. The relationship is simple. Host the shooter in orlando has a connection to your country. Father, does he have any official role in the Afghan Government . Guest he has spoken as if he has. The internet is a wonderful phenomenon. Afghanistan is a very free country. Uncensored completely. People are free to raise their opinions wherever they are. They are entitled to their opinions. People have their opinions and it doesnt necessarily mean that have anynions connection to their country. Host is afghanistan under sharia law . Wast the constitution built in consensus with all parties in afghanistan. If there is a clause in the constitution where the constitution cannot make a ambiguity, wee is rely on sharia law. In america when you talk about sharia law didnt meet goes to the thinking of what the taliban very strict islamic rules with a different interpretation. Is a strict interpretation of what the other regimes would have wanted to implement. It is not what it is. Most of what is already so far, there is a very comprehensive constitution. It has built upon the constitution afghanistan has had in the past. Basically having the knowledge we have already had. Host jim is in virginia. Hello. Caller your last two questions were pointed and great. Bestmbassador, i hope the for your country. Speaking on the terrorist issue of the taliban and, isis, and al qaeda. I would like to receive more on the news. Maybe cspan can do something on it. ,he middle Eastern Countries my sone eu over there, was over there twice. There are antiinterventionists over there. Get a response from the ambassador. Guest the afghans would want to nothing more than the have this war end. For the past 40 years we continue to suffer. There are no good or bad terrorists. You have no boundaries. The Afghan Security forces are fighting on behalf of the Afghan People. We have suffered through it. From times that i remember we make sense of things. For peace and stability in afghanistan, it is about time we have that. Dawn from virginia, how are you . Landlord is in afghanistan now. Been trying with two administrations to raise 2 to farmers to grow cotton. We encourage alternative crops to poppy. We encourage that kind of approach. Administration is actively alternative crops. Caught and others have done very well. They are will by the communities as well. They are welcome by the communities as well. Host daniel, you are armed with the afghan ambassador to the u. S. Caller good morning, and thank you for taking my call. I am a retired military man. I served in the United States marine corps and did some time over there in the middle east. I feel very bad for your nation, the long history of intervention from other countries with russia , our country over there doing whatever, im not sure what they are doing over there right now. Believe is really the core reason why united , i know talk about terrorism and a lot of us americans dont understand the telegram, al qaeda, isis, these are all different organizations, a fight amongst themselves. People try to simplify and just say terrorists, period. What do you think the core reason is we are over there . Is a because there are things over there that we like . Earlier brought up opiates and stuff and afghanistan has a lot of resources in your country. Where do you stand with this . Host why are we over there . Guest i want to say to all those who have served directly in afghanistan, thank you for your service to both your country and hour ours. It is a shared threat. Of differentot terrorist groups with different names. They all have the same root and and route is to terrorize have whatever the perception or interpretation is on population and the world. These threats we saw in 2001, it was not restricted to the geography of afghanistan. Wasnabling environment provided to attack the United States all the way from the planned attacks. Your troops are there as our making sure afghanistan never becomes a country for terrorists. The afghani pe also ensure the region is stable and safe. And the entire world dictate from terrorists at ease from that area at least from that area. Startsnt article, obama combat mission in afghanistan. Conduct offensive air raids the taliban and other groups and to let american troops restart ground operations. Our Security Forces brought bravely. Ensure, it is a relatively new force. Arold military last year. We were under a tremendous amount of pressure. They really developed the coordination, internal coordination. We are on the front foot, with you on the offensive. Want to make sure afghanistan does in return to the ages where instability will increase. We are supportive, we are glad that the authorities have been increased to help us in combat. Our Security Forces are on the offensive now. We welcome support we will be able to achieve. I also want to thank the American Administration for the train, advice, and assist. Host what percentage of the country does the host control . All of it yet so what about the telegram, dont they control what about the telegram . . Ont they control swaths guest they may be able to or perhapse damage have more influence. Is where you can provide people with certain governance. It is not about terrorizing people. The Afghan Government provide all represented in the Afghan Government. Servicesve provided from medical services to education. If it was simply to threaten people, then perhaps control would have to be redefined. Host who funds the enemies of your government . Guest there is foreign funding for these enemies. Getting funding from opium trades. That is where the line between the criminality and insurgency has to be defined. Which one is funding lot to . We capture people who turn out visit jokesn is it drugs fueling insurgency or is it insurgency fueling the drugs . We want to go after the criminals, the pure criminals. These criminals have taken advantage of the instability. Host lets hear from greta from west virginia. Caller i had a question about the ambassador. I thank you for cspan. Im interested in learning more about the structure of afghanistan government. And the interest is is on the participation of the citizens of afghanistan. What the deal do they have to speak out against various channels . I was wondering what the real structure was for afghanistan and what their plans will be if they wanted to change it . Guest it is a very important question. Afghanistan is a democratic state. One of the previous media in the region, it is a surprise to many. We have over 35 tv channels. Channels, allio operating numerous print media. Civil society is also very active. It is accountable to its people. We as a structure of a our president and members of parliament. They represent the peoples wishes. It is a lot of engagement from the people in the process. The people decide on what kind of development they would want. The amount of budget to that community and how the community would want to expect would want to spend it. Is a huge amount of engagement between the government and people. Are increasing that even further to make sure they have further engagement. The afghan public is very active. They have been utilizing some of the resources. Many of them have access to the internet via their work. And they are very active on social media. They make sure they are hurt. Good morning, you are on the air. I am very conflicted. The United States has been is war with africanamericans. The same factors that are being used here can be applied in afghanistan. Then the war starts. If you have a democratic , all of our soldiers have been killed. I just dont believe there is a direct connection between democracy and all the positives coming out. There has to be another piece that people are not getting. The people want services. Direct connection between stability and some of these activities. There are levels of criminality. Instability provides an opportunity. That is what we want to put an end to. Stability and services for our people. It is ending impunity for , including terrorists. Prior to coming to washington what are you doing . Guest i was working with our i work who activities around him, his correspondence, diplomatic relations, his protocol and organizing his in thebroad, working. Overnment counterparts host is kabul safe for prisoners . Guest most people who live in kabul, it isve in the threat you feel from outside. People who do not care, they kill indiscriminately. You could be the target of something you are not. Community,e it is a it is a place that is extremely hospitable. Me they had a connection with afghanistan. They are extremely passionate. I think thats what draws people to the country. It is unfortunate many people are afraid to go with it. Those people who have been in afghanistan in the 1970s and 60 still remember and still work with afghanistan. Over one million americans served in afghanistan. Many whom i meet want afghanistan to succeed. They see what the Afghan People are doing. They have suffered, we have suffered through decades of war. We still strive for a developed society. We rebuild institutions to make an equal partner in the community. Its amazing to see how the Afghan People have been able to put up with all these difficulties. Relations with all our international partners. Even today there are people who travel to afghanistan. We wanted to make it so you have peace of mind to move back. To have a peaceful afghanistan. To connect energy rich central asia. The markets to connect to south asia. We are a center of roundabout. To make afghanistan into a , a place where people, ideas flow freely. To pakistan and india. And electricity line connected with it. We also have electricity running there is that interconnectivity we have already begun. That is our aim. The place was to be in the heart. Countries to collaborate. Host where were you on 9 11 . Guest i was an Asylum Seeker living in the united kingdom. A shock toy that was everyone around the world. I think everyone, even in ,fghanistans remote villages trying to make sense of what , the world is coming together at that time. Terrorists have one goal, to divide people between countries, andres and religions trying to frame themselves as representatives of an entire community. There was a time when countries, cultures, and religions came together. Including the afghans who took an aft depart took an active part in condemning that. Is with thean action in support presented by the community. Schools were children, we have 8 million children in the schools today. We have built over 7000 roads alone. Coming up saturday morning, Philadelphia Inquirer city hall reporter talks about philadelphias new went have sent per round tax on sugary beverages. The first tax imposed on a major u. S. City. Sam plumbing will discuss what came out of this weeks girl reserve meeting and the overall outlook for the u. S. Economy and the potential impact of the brexit referendum. And then Joshua Horwitz will talk about his groups position on the guncontrol measures in the wake of the orlando nightclub attack. Plus a look at u. S. Efforts to combat homegrown terrorism and extremism with shame skews, shamus hughes. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal beginning live at 7 00 a. M. The Democratic National committee is holding its southwest regional platform in phoenix. Its four hours. Good morning. And thank you to the democratic committee. Congressman Elijah Cummings of maryland. And it is an or nor to chair this panel, participate many this process. And i welcome all of you to these very, very important proceedings. I would like to call this forum of the 2016 platform drafting ommittee to order. And now will you stand to pledge llegiance to the flag. [pledge of allegiance] representative cummings on behalf of my colleagues on the platform drafting committee, i welcome you as we continue the series of regional events designed to hear from democrats on the key issues affecting their families, their communities, our nation and indeed the world. We will continue this open and transparent process that allows ample opportunity for every view int to be raised and to be heard. Before the proceedings with todays events, we must take a ment to recognize a simple tragedy that took place in orlando last weekend. Dozens of innocent americans lost their lives in an act of hatred. Together, we grieve for those who were killed and the families and loved ones left behind. Let us take a moment of silence to honor those 49 victims, lease. Thank you very much. Before asking the National Democratic anymore commission c. E. O. Reverendly yeah daughtry to b bring welcoming remarks on behalf of the pear, i want to again, thank her publicly for her leadership of the convention and its many components. And it is my pleasure to welcome any colleagues of the committee. Other democrats who join us today and members of the public as we begin these discussions about the future of the Democratic Party and the future of this great nation. Iah . Good morning. Good morning. Thank you chairman cummings for your warm welcoming and your thrape you have provided over so many decades to this nation and now to our drafting committee. We pressure you and thank you for your service. Last weekend, our nation stood still as news of yet another horrific act of violence, hatred and terrorism flashed across our screen. All of our hearts break for the victims of this horrendous attack in orlando and the families who now must daily grapple with the reality that their loved ones have been snatched from them senselessly and too soon. Since last weekend, we have heard many offer good thoughts and prayers and well wishes for the families who are navigating heir way through this tragedy. And this is good and heartfelt and appreciated, im sure. T i would suggest the good thoughts while well intentioned and the good prayers is not enough. Faith without works is dead. Just like thoughts without actions is meaningless. It is unconscienable that in this the greatest country in the world Deadly Weapons can be obtained more easily han the plane ticks we tickets we use to get here. But i am a prisoner of hope. And so i believe that if we stand together in one voice with one intention, we can make our ommunity safe again. We are an inclusive nation that embraces all americans not in spite of but because of who they are. In many ways that is why we are here today to insure that when democrats gather in philadelphia just 38 days from now, we are ail to present a National Platform that is representative of our partys commitment to that of americas most enduring value, this of we the people. And when we say we the people, when we profess a commitment to the people, we mean all the people. As a party that embraces and celebrates our differences, we are committed to addressing the needs of a of our people. And that commitment means that we are intently focused on protecting the needs of all americans and expanding their access to the democratic process. It is a fundamental element of who we are, a vital component of expanding access is insuring that no american is denied the most basic promise of our constitutional democracy, the right to vote. After all the right to vote is the foundation of our form of government. And defending that right is part of our neverending effort to create a more perfect union. Men and women have fought, marched, bled and died to gain and to protect the rights to vote. And as democrats, we stand firmly against all attempts to prevent americans from exercising their rights. Every american should be able to vote for the candidates that represent them. Every american, the least, the last, the lost, the locked out and the left behind, the young and the old, the formerly incarcerated, the Business Owner and the day laborer, every american deserves to have their voice heard. As person of faith, i believe that every person has a divine purpose and divine value. Every Single Person is important and we have no one to waste. We have a responsibility to treat our sisters and our brothers equally and to do everything within our powers to help everyone achieve their godgiven potential. I am proud to join with the members of the drafting committee and members of this community to insure that our National Platform, our Party Statement of principles and values is forged with consideration of every voice in our peamplet today, we will continue the substantive exchange of ideas that we began last week in washington, d. C. And i look forward to hearing the voices today and more importantly the hearts of democrats, about our policy, about our party, and how we can dont issues that will build on the success we have experienced over the last eight years. As republicans focus on what divides us, we will focus on how we can bring americans together and expand access and strengthen ladders of opportunity for all americans. Thank you. Representative cummings thank you very much, liah. I would like to thank the individuals you will hear from today to making time to share their perspectives and recommendation on the issues confronting americans. We appreciate you sharing your expertise and we look forward to hearing from you throughout the forum. Im also delighted to thank the more than 1,000 individuals from 43 states in the district of columbia who have taken the time to share your comments or post written and video testimony on the dncc website in addition to welcoming you those of you here to phoenix, arizona, im delighted to acknowledge those joining us today to the dncc live stream of of demconvention. Com. As democrats, we are committed to addressing concerns that affect the peoples lives, the problems that they face every day and challenges, the sad problems that their children face, their childrens education and the wellbeing, the health and the safety of seniors, the opportunities available in our communities and our nations future. Among other, we began last week by hearing testimony and recommendation on leveling the Playing Field moving america forward. And americas role in the world turnover next two days, we will hear from policy experts, Community Leaders and advocates on energy and the environment, health, and safety. And protecting the expanding and expanding our democracy. The Democratic Party platform is not about any one of us sitting around this table. It is so much bigger than all of us. It is about the people and with the platform being a covenant of our shared and elected values, it is important that the process captures the energy and the bredth of the party. This Diverse Group will allow us to bring together our partys best thinking with the focus on solutions. And so it gives me great pleasure. We are really, really very pleased to have a special guest with us today. And that is the mayor of phoenix, mayor greg stanton. Major stanton since taking office in 2012 has worked tirelessly to build a modern economy that works for every Phoenix Family by boosting trade with mexico, investing in biosigns and lifting up local business. The mayor is leading the way to create an innovation based export economy built to last. Mayor sanders committed to making our community a more welcoming and open place. Under his leadership, phoenix game first u. S. City to end chronic homelessness among veterans. Recognition earned on the lgbt issues and became the first arizona city to earn a perfect score on the equality index. Thank you very much for being with us. And well hear from you now. All right. Congressman, thank you for that kind introduction. Welcome to the greatest city of the United States of america. Phoenix, arizona. [applause] we dont give up easy. We fight in phoenix. You see, we fitted second in the competition for the 2016 Democratic Convention and i want to be the first to welcome you to the home of the 2020 convention here in phoenix. Also welcome to the Fastest Growing big city post world war ii in the United States of america. The future of phoenix, arizona is the future of the United States of america in so many ways. People are voting with their feet to move to the south western United States in particular phoenix. Were so blessed to have incredible diverse tism im confident with the intellectual and policy fire pow twhear this committee is going to provide to our party, were going to be successful in the most important election in our lifetime and congressman you mentioned a couple of the issues that are important to the party and certainly important to the people of this city. I want to thank you in advance for your support of the veterans across the United States of america which i know will be an important part of our platform. In phoenix we were proud to accept poths challenge. He challenged every city to end homelessness, such a sad, sadish shusme im proud to say that phoenix was the first in the United States of america to end chronic homelessness among our veteran population. I want to thank this committee to show support for people. You understand that supporting people is great for the economy in the United States of america. We understand that in cities thats why when i became mayor support for Lgbt Community was so important. Phoenix, arizona has got an perfect score. Same as sfrain, chicago, new york or los angeles or any of the other cities you might expect. I want to thank you for doing so much to support the issue of Climate Change which is very real. We think of Climate Change in terms of how it affects cities. But because of rising tides and ocean lines, with the heat that youre going to experience over the next few days here earlier that you usually get, rising temperatures drought is a huge issue result of Climate Change. The policys that you dont here. The policies of our pear, the Successful Party are directly going to benefit us here in the desert southwest. Theres no more issue on Climate Change. I want to thank you in advance. Neeks did win the award. Theyre having the strongest policy change policies in the United States of of as a city. In particular congressman, i want to thank you so much for your leadership on comprehensive Immigration Reform. When that is successful, no city in the United States of america will benefit more economically from comprehensive Immigration Reform than phoenix, arizona because of the wonderful diversity that we are so blessed to have including a city thats going to be a latino community. Finally, i want to thank you for supporting infrastructure across the United States of america. We just passed the largesest transportation Infrastructure Investment by the sloters of phoenix. A 32 32 billion. Were going to trip the amount of light rail, increase the amount of bus service. 11,000 miles of bike lane. Make the city more walkable. Provide Service First our citizens that happen to have disabilities. Were going big on transportation because we know how important it is to connect people to education and jobs. Those that want to afford a car or utilize a car, how important that is for the future of our economy. For that and so many other reasons, i want to thank this economy. Because the policy recommendations are great for cities. And therefore great for our country. Welcome to phoenix. Have a great few days of meetings. Youre going to hear from one of the most talented people in our community. Both Community Leaders they had the opportunity to work with here. We have a great, thriving, active, passionate and successful Democratic Party here in the stitt of arizona. Welcome to phoenix. Congressman, say a few words. [applause] representative cummings so often in washington, we hear a lot about what cant be done. And thank you for doing things and creating models for a entire nation. And we really do appreciate your hospitality. Thanks very much. Thanks so much. Before we get started i want to have them introduce themselvess the members of this very distinguished drafting committee. They want to make sure that you as a party create a meaningful platform not with regard for the next four years but for the next generation and beyond. And so it gives me tremendous honor to have them introduce themselves, the members of the drafting committee of the Platform Committee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Im warren gunnels, im the policy director for bernie sanders. Its a pleasure to be here. Thank you. Thank you. Im state representative Alicia Freese the battleground state of io and the blaw black caucus. Thank you for being here. Debra parker, im a member of the tribe and i just want to thank the southwest indigenous tribes for honoring us an allowing us on to their traditional territory today. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman, im bonnie schaffer. Im from florida, north carolina, im happy to be here. Thank you. Im congressman lose gutierrez. Im happy to be im congressman luis gutierrez. Im happy to be with you. My name is nera tandon. Im president of American Progress and its great to be here. Im Wendy Sherman former undersecretary of state for political affairs. Im jim zogby, thank you for the very warm welcome. [laughter] that was very good. Paul, American Federation of municipal employees of phoenix. Welcome us all here. And im glad to be here too. Barbara lee, member of congress. I represent the progressive 13th Congressional District of california. My late mother lived in sun city, arizona. So i visited your beautiful city many times. Thank you for your hospitality. Dole mckibbon from the Green Mountains of vermont. Advisor for Hillary Clinton and honored to be here. Thank you very much. Pollack berman could not be with us today. Keith ellison and cheryl brown he be joining us later on in our proceedings. I want to thank all of the Committee Members for being a part of this very important committee. Also seated with us are two of the many individuals giving us Staff Support throughout this weekend. Ndrew grossman and patrice taylor. Andrew is the National Platform director. And pa trees is the director of the d. N. C. s office of Party Affairs and delegate selection. Staff has been absolutely wonderful. Done a tremendous job. Let me thank Debbie Wasserman shultz. She and i have been talk every day trying to make sure these proceedings are transparent and open and fair and i want to thank her for her tremendous leadership. Footballly im pleased to introduce our parlimentarian. Hopefully she wont have too much work to do. Helen mcfadden. Shes the d. N. C. s parliamentarian and she can help us navigate any parliamentary issues that may arrive. Today and tomorrow, helen will be serving as our timekeeper. And i remind the audience and members that weve got today, were going to be hearing from ho 41 witnesses. So were going to be moving kind of rapidly because we want to hear from everyone. Let me just take a moment to what is so important. The idea that just a year ago South Carolina at Emmanuel Church nine people were lain while sitting in a church basement. And so we have to really look at our nation and try to figure out how do we address these issues and we just cant continue to turn our heads away from them. Though, we now, the purpose of the hearing today and the same as one last week is to solicit from individuals and organizationings regarding the content of the partys 2016 National Platform. Each speaker has been given three minutes for a formal statement following each presentation or at the conclusion of the last speaker, time will be allowed for questions from the Committee Members. Now, i want to remind the speakers that we have your written testimony and so you dont have to read your testimony. You can just come and give us a summary because i think most of the members want to theyll have some questions. Were not going to be able to get to all the questions but well do the best we can. We have a busy and compact hearing schedule for today. Each presentation will be timed and the speaker should adjust accordingly. This undertaking is a serious business. As democrats we need to keep in mind that the differences we may have are relatively small while we may be passionate in our opinions and beliefs, let us conduct this process with decorum and respect for each other and for those who are taking time to speak to us. So we will begin today with this would be session four. Today we begin the energy and environment part of our presentation, a theme that touches each and every one of us ether we live in cities, suburbs communities, all americans want to know Energy Sources that Energy Sources are available and cost effective. And the environment is respected an preserved for our children and our childrens children. Someone once said that we do not inherent our environment from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Our first group of speakers will share with us some of the approaches and vehicles needed to make that happen. Our first witness will be Madeline Madeline foote of the league of conservation voters. Ms. Foote is the legislative representative of the conservation voters, who work with state and local authorities. During her five years, she has worked to draft legislative trategy on hydraulic fracturring and advocated for the Regulatory Priorities related to Climate Change and clean water with members of congress. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning. Congressman cummings is your mic on . I believe. Thank you for the testimony to testify today. On behalf of 1. 7 million members to inform people about our Top Priorities which should be included in the 2016 democratic platform. These enclued reducing the plus that is warming our planet. Insuring that all communities have access to clean air and clean water, investing in a clean energy committee. Preventing Public Health from toxic kem catses, create a fair and just society and preserving the special places that we hold dear. President obama and his administration have made incredible progress in advancing environmental protections especially on the issue of Climate Change. We must continue to build on this progress. We have a moral obligation to protect our planet. And the Democratic Party should lead the way in insuring that we have a clean and safe planet for generations to come. The urgent need for action on tackling Climate Change has never been more clear and the platform should include taking easures to reduce measures increasing carbon print. It should have the International Climate agreement forged in paris and recognize what it does to communities across the country. Especially to low income families and communities of colorle we must accelerate our transition to clean energy an leave most fossil fuels on the grown. We urge the platform to recognize that the federal lands and water should strans production and distribution of clean energy. The tragic situation in flint, michigan has demonstrated that we cannot take Safe Drinking Water for granted. Cities across the u. S. Have experienced elevated levels of dangerous toxic led in Drinking Water and like many of our environmental challenges these impact fall on those most vulnerable. Providing and drinking Safe Drinking Water should be a platform priority as well as supporting the clean water rule and funding for necessary improvements to our Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure toxic kem cats have been pervasive in our homes, body and environment. Sorry, did i lose and science continues to link exposure to kem cats to increases in Chronic Health problems. Fortunately Congress Passed legislation to give the e. P. A. New tools to reduce those on those most vulnerable who are disproportionately exposed. We must support the e. P. A. Taking bold actions to restrict and remove dangerous kem catses from the marketplace. Lastly, americas public lands and open spaces are some of our nations most prized possession. The platform should encourage landscape Level Conservation while conning to protect our wildlife and invest in critical conservation programs. We must also continue to bolster the diversity of the sites, stories, visitors of our National Public lands so that all people feel welcome in them. In conclusion, we encourage the Platform Committee to make safeguarding our environment one of the central pillars of the platform and we thank you for the opportunity to testify. Thank you very much. Any questions . Rep. Cummings thank you very much. Thank you. Dr. Michael mann, from with he and professor of Atmospheric Science at penn state university, with joint appointment in the department of geosciences and the urban environmental system. Hes also director of the penn state earth system science center. His research involves the use of theoretical model and Observational Data to better understand the earths climate system. Welcome. Thank you, congressman and community members. I am honored to speak to you about this critical issue. My name is michael mann. Im a distinguished professor of Atmospheric Science at penn state. I spend my time teaching, advising students, doing scientific research, and engaging in efforts to inform the Larger Population about Climate Change. Fundamentally, i am a climate scientist, and i have spent much of my year with my head buried in climate data trying to seize of humanout the signal caused Climate Change. What is disconcerting to me and so many colleagues is these tools we have spent years developing, increasingly, are unnecessary, because we can see the impacts of Climate Change playing out in realtime on our Television Screens in the 24hour news cycle. Regardless of how you measure the impacts of Climate Change, whether it be food, water, health, national security, our economy, Climate Change is already taking a great toll. We have seen that in the damage done by extreme floods, let what we have seen over the past year in texas and South Carolina. We see it in the devastating combination of sealevel rise and more destructive hurricanes, which has led to calamities like superstorm sandy, and what is now the perennial flooding of miami beach. We see it in unprecedented droughts, like that which continues to afflict california, doubling the area of wildfire, fire burning in the western u. S. , and indeed, in the record heat we may very well see this weekend in phoenix, arizona. The signal of Climate Change is no longer subtle. It is obvious. And like the tip of the proverbial iceberg, further changes, like enough melting of the ice sheets to give us three feet of sealevel rise by the end of the century, may be locked and simply from the carbon we have burned, from the warming in the pipeline due to the burning of fossil fuels. Tipping points in the climate system we may have crossed, but there are likely many others we have not crossed, and can still avoid. It is still possible to avert catastrophic and potentially irreversible changes in climate, but only by moving forward, building on the progress that has been made in recent years, in accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels towards a clean energy economy. The stakes could not be greater. The future of our children and grandchildren literally hangs in the balance. Nor could the contrast be any more start in the upcoming election. We have on the one hand, the republican party, whose standardbearer and a vast majority of their congressional representatives continue to deny that Climate Change exists. We have on the other hand, a Democratic Party that understands full well, while we can debate policy specifics for dealing with the worsening crisis, we cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore the growing threat. It is my hope that the democratic platform will contain an affirmative platform recognizing the dire threat Climate Change poses to us, the country and the planet, and a statement about the importance of putting a price signal in the market, a price on carbon. It is my hope the platform will acknowledge the progress made by the Obama Administration, and promise to build on that legacy by defending the Clean Power Plan against attacks by Congressional Republicans and by ensuring other epa policies to reduce Carbon Emissions are kept in place. It is my hope the platform will acknowledge the vital role of the u. S. In helping to lead Ongoing International negotiations to avert catastrophic warming of the planet, building on the progress made at the International Climate summer summit in paris. This is the time to move forward. It is up to the Democratic Party to make sure that happens. Thank you. Rep. Cummings thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] Committee Members should know that dr. Mann is not just a great scientist, but a great, staunch activist on these issues, who has the battle scars to show for it. Could you explain why climate scientists they we need to leave something on the order of 80 of the coal and gas we know about underground . Dr. Mann let me thank you, bill. You are a hero to many of us in your efforts to elevate the discourse on Climate Change. The idea that we need to keep 80 of fossil fuels in the ground is based on pretty rigorous science. We can actually calculate how much carbon we can continue to burn, what the carbon budget is, if we are to keep warming below catastrophic levels. What we tend to equate with two degrees celsius, three and a half degrees warming of the globe if we want to keep warming below that level, we need to keep 80 of the fossil fuels in the ground. We are already halfway there. It is still possible to avoid catastrophic warming of the planet, but it is essential we engage in dramatic reductions in carbon and missions it is possible to avoid catastrophic change in the planet, but it is essential we engage in efforts to Renewable Energy and green energy as soon as possible to do that. Rep. Cumming one of the arguments we hear too often in washington is that it will not make any difference, even in light of the paris what happened in paris. They say, you know, what we may do here will not have tremendous impact. What do you say to that . Dr. Mann thanks for the question. Too often, there is quite a gulf between what we hear from washington dc, and what we scientists know to be true, based on science. Rep. Cumming based on science. [laughter] dr. Mann based on science. If you look at the agreements of 200 nations around the world to reduce Carbon Emissions are enough to get us from where we were headed 5 warming of the globe in half a century, halfway to where we need to be holding , us below that dangerous two degree level. We actually made enough progress, as long as countries we need ton where be. It is easy to see a path. This is by building on the importing agreement. Indeed, it is part of the reason this next election is so critical. If we are to build on that agreement, rather than move we obviously will need a president and a congress that embraces the objective of avoiding dangerous Climate Change. Rep. Cummings yes, ambassador sherman. Ambassador sherman how important is American Leadership to that purpose you just named . Dr. Mann American Leadership could not be more important. We in this country have had the luxury of cheap access to dirty fossil fuels for two centuries , and who are we to tell the rest of the world that they are not entitled to cheap, dirty energy if we do not have our own house in order . We land lend tremendous moral authority to this discussion, and that is why it is so important that we lead, not just in these negotiations, but continue to lead as president obama has done and as, hopefully, our next president will do as well. Rep. Cummings this will be our last question. Mr. Gunnels. Mr. Gunnels thank you for your testimony. I really appreciate it. Ive appreciated in your testimony, talking about price on carbon. How important do you think the price on carbon is, how quickly do you think we should an act it, and what will happen to the planet if we dont enact a price on carbon . Dr. Mann thank you for the question. The only way to avoid catastrophic consequences for the planet, there needs to be a price signal. We need a price on carbon. Unfortunately over the past several years, we have been in an environment where we had a congress in denial, the Republican Leadership in denial of Climate Change, and there has been absence, not only leadership, but the possibility of conference of climate legislation to put a price signal on the burning of carbon. In the absence of that, we have seen tremendous progress at the municipal level, local level, here in phoenix as we heard earlier, and through executive actions, the actions of the Obama Administration, but we will need to put a price on carbon, if we are going to tackle the problem thoroughly. Ultimately, that will require a congress that is willing not only to accept Climate Change is real, but to act on it through comprehensive climate legislation. Rep. Cummings thank you very much. Thank you very much. We really appreciate your passion. Peggy shepard. She has successfully combined grassroots organizing, Environmental Advocacy and Environmental Health research to become one of the most highly peopleed environmental in the country today. Pioneeringering the perspective of an terminal justice in urban communities to ensure the entitlement of clean air, water is accessible to all communities. A leader in the National Environmental justice movement, she is cofounder and executive director of the we act for Environmental Justice, based in west harlem, which has a 24 year history of affecting Environmental Health policy and practice, locally and nationally. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good morning, chair cummings, and distinguished Committee Members. The challenge i have been offered is a challenge the dnc must embrace, that all residents should have access to clean water, clean air, equal Environmental Enforcement and protection, and equitable benefits burdens, and resources. ,the reality is many are sick and dying from disproportionate exposure to toxins and policies that spoil the landscape in areas of america. We know that place matters. We know that your zip code or tribal status often determines your health status, and the range of environmental hazards and conditions that characterized these communities. , cancer alley is a 100 mile stretch between baton rouge and new orleans that has byen over plantation lands, 700 refineries and 175 heavy industrial plants. Small africanamerican communities of 300 or 400 people are sandwiched between these industrial plantations with no evacuation route. In new york city, people of Public Housing is home to over 600,000 people of color and low income living in shameful tests, andof mold, housing deterioration, causing chronic disease. In north carolina, black farmers share a fence line with feed operations, where hog manure contaminates groundwater and do outside your home, because you might be sprayed with manure when you go to your car. In california, children are working in fields sprayed with a pesticide that has been banned by the epa for residential use, but is still allowed to be used in farming, where the most vulnerable pregnant women and children are working. Today, Climate Change is the great challenge. Trade systems are opposed by Environmental Justice organizations nationally for two regions. Codedo not reduce provisions, which trigger asthma and secondly, they facilitate an outcome of some plants buying credit rather than reducing emissions, which results in communities not reaping the benefit of reduced admissions. Emissions. The next administration should really advance an intersectional, interdisciplinary approach. We cannot have sustainable communities, a sustainable america without our transportation, open space, and health system, and Environmental Enforcement in sync. We need to envision our Energy Future to advance energy investment, and infrastructure to keep housing and homes affordable, so low income residents do not lose homes, or landlords do not abandon their maintenance. We need to launch a federal Healthy Homes initiative, to work with local governments, and communitybased organizations to eradicate mold, and truly get led out of homes and Drinking Water, so there are no more flint disasters. In conclusion, underserved communities need an advocate at the white house, who is knowledgeable and concerned about these issues, not simply about Public Engagement but about creating change. We need a council on Environmental Quality that is empowered or restructured to provide coordination and outreach that is effective, informed, and helps to develop the changes we need. I thank you and we are submitting longer recommendations today as well. Rep. Cumming thank you very much. [applause] rep. Cummings congresswoman lee . Rep. Lee thank you. Is so important that you are here today with your testimony. Thank you. I may mention first of all, i was born and raised in el paso, texas. Some of you may have heard the story several years ago about the smelters in el paso. My contemporaries, a majority gothem have passed away, or lung disease, multiple sclerosis. My sister has multiple sclerosis, several of our classmates with ms, cancer, all kinds of diseases, which led to premature death or disabilities. And we know it was the smelters in el paso where we lived that somehow was part of the problem. That is what happened to my contemporaries. So, i know this issue very well. Thank you very much. I wanted to ask you, now or we here we are in 2016, still with lead in the water, toxic dump sites in low income communities. In my community, we are talking now about transporting led through black and latino communities not lead, excuse me. Coal through black and latino communities. Im wondering if you had a chance to look at the environmental and Health Impacts of coal, and then secondly with these environmental injustice decisions being made i mean, these are decisions that lead to Environmental Justice. Have you looked at civil Rights Violations . Do they come under the civil rights act, or could they . absolutely, there is a title vi element of the civil rights act. It says that a state that receives federal funding that federal funds can be taken from them if they discriminate. However, there has been a backlog of title vi cases at the epa for over 20 years. Many of them dismissed out of hand. The title vi area is one that needs to be strengthened, and epa needs to be given the mandate to ensure these cases are adequately reviewed. Rep. Lee what about coal . Have you studied that . Ms. Shepherd we know that burning of coal exacerbates asthma and respiratory disease. In new york city, we had an environmental bond act several years ago that transformed over 400 Public Schools that were still using coalfired furnaces, with our children having the asthma epidemic we have throughout new york city. We also know that coal slurry in appalachia has contaminated groundwater and waterways terribly there. The impact on appalachia has been very significant. Thank you so much, not just for your testimony, but for a real lifetime of work. Things that worries me sometimes is when people hear about Something Like flint, they get all upset and alarmed as they should be but imagine it is just some kind of oneoff anomaly. Could you talk a little bit about how we should really think about what happened in flint in the National Context . Ms. Shepard certainly. I think the Environmental Justice movement believes it is a prime example of environmental racism. We believe that if this had happened in ann arbor, this would not have occurred. They would not have switched to a contaminated water supply. We also believe that people of color who complain about these issues are not given the review and attention they should be. We know that the epa in that region and let me say that the epa regional directors, that whole epa region, the administrators need to be restructured. They are not accountable to outcomes and they do not seem to be accountable to the administrator in washington. But we know that the epa had information they did not act on. Again, when people of color have these complaints, they are not taken seriously. Until a pediatrician came in and did research, and began to raise this issue, nothing was done. But the other issue is we now know there are at least 19 other cities in this country that have levels of lead in the water that approach flint or are higher. So, these issues have been going on for many years. And because these cities are not making the investment, or because the federal government is not giving the investment in funding that some of these that have financial issues, because of that, they are not taking care of these issues. Water quality is key. Thank you for your testimony. How can we bring back Environmental Justice to tribal nations . We had people of color in different areas, rural areas, but we have tribal nations that had a separate set of laws, sovereign nations government to government. But often you see pollutants and big oil and Coal Companies coming onto reservation land s, because often there is a lack of authority or law that protects tribal nations. What have you found in your studies . And what can you recommend to the Platform Committee . Ms. Shepard i know that the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the epa has had strong indigenous representation and a separate indigenous working group. Through that body, we have been able to affect some of the issues on tribal lands, but we really need strong voices in there arebecause leaders and tribal leaders who have Certain Authority that the federal government cannot contravene. So there are those kinds of issues, but theres a lot of strong advocacy on tribes. There is the Indigenous Environmental Network out of minnesota that has been taking on these issues, i think in a very effective way. But we need strong congressional support. Rep. Cummings thank you very much. Mr. Mckibben i take your point about the environmental racism. In the case of flint, i would underscore it by reference to the fact that the emergency ,anager made these decisions one of eight Emergency Managers across michigan which somehow had been imposed on the city where there are majority black populations. No coincidence. Also the financial dimensions of what we learned in flint. Would you concur that in addition to the racial dimension of it, there is also the austerity Economic Policy at the root of the short sighted decisions that were made in flint, the systematic over a period of years, depletion of state aid to cities, not just flint, but other cities in michigan, that played a role in the optionsing available, and then they made this terrible decision to save a few bucks by diverting from the previous water supply that has caused this calamity thats going to last for years and , and the kids going up will grow up with that led . But the crucial decisions are , also crucial here, that we need to reinvest in the infrastructure of our cities . Ms. Shepard absolutely. We certainly know that there are the infrastructure is failing throughout the country. And thatg the dnc administration will make that investment in our infrastructure. These Emergency Managers throughout michigan have only been, for the most part, put into cities that are primarily africanamerican, or people of color. Austerity measures seem to fall heavily on communities of color as well. Democracy is literally snatched from the people in the cities. With no review, and no recourse. Austerity measures, the Financial Investment by the federal government is very crucial. To maintaining Environmental Quality. Rep. Cumming let me just say this. Listening to you, i cannot let you go without saying this. When i grew up, we were in a very poor neighborhood. All of my six brothers and sisters had asthma. People died early from cancer. I could name all kind of environmental things happening. But we didnt even we thought it was normal. I think that the things you are that makes people aware that is not normal. A lot of people dont realize that there are some folks living in situations that they should not. Barbara lee talks about poverty. To talkif you want about poverty, if somebody is sick all the time, it is kind of hard to move forward. I want to thank you for your advocacy. The other thing i wanted to ask was, the president and congress will hopefully do things but i was wondering, how much of this involves educating people, so know that things can be better. Ms. Shepard absolutely. Grassroots education and training said that residents who live in your districts can come in and talk about these issues, can brief you and your staff about these issues, is crucial. We cannot have important mobilization without informed residents. I would also say that we now know that asthma is not normal. Investment to the National Institutes of health, the National Institute of Environmental Health sciences has been crucial. The finding to the childrens Environmental Health centers around the country has produced incredible research that has looked at the impact of air quality on children, intergenerational he passed intergenerationally and on pregnant women, vulnerable populations. And has looked at the impact of air quality on asthma and heart disease. We now have the research. We really know what the issues are. Now, we need the political will to transform our health. Rep. Cummings thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] mark ruffalo is an american actor. Is he here . Mark ruffalo im on skype. From the lowou carbon Digital World today. [laughter] rep. Cumming there you are. Mark ruffalo how are you . Rep. Cumming very good. Mark ruffalo it is an honor to be here with the dnc speaking with these issues, especially with the speakers you have lined up. Many of them are my heroes. And deeply honored to be here. As a lowly, humble actor. Thank you for the chance to speak today. First, i want to recognize the democratic primary that honestly debated the choices we have in front of us. Paths,alking different each of our candidates actually share a goal of 100 clean energy. This commitment, among others, gives me hope, that as a party, we will not turn away from the challenges facing our country today. Unlike others running for president , we will not turn away from each other. We will Work Together to solve these tough problems. We will give 100 for 100 of for 100 of our citizens. The old, dirty fossil fuel systems and dark money it pumps into our politics is a toxic mess killing more than 40,000 americans each year. 1500 of them in arizona alone. Researchers estimate each american will save more than 8,000, and 6,000 for people in arizona, by moving to 100 clean energy every year, instead of billions of dollars being put in the pockets of the 1 . That wealth can be shared by all, meaning less money spent on wars to protect dirty fossil fuels, and more money on schools, roads, and communities. The good news is, we dont have to dream anymore about wind, and sun powering our lives. Scientists from stanford, uc davis, and cornell have proven clean energy is absolutely possible today. It is costeffective, and it is possible with the technology we have today. Wind today is the cheapest form of Energy Available in the United States. Solar is cost competitive. The result of making that switch nearly 600 billion saved, ok . Not to mention the gains we will make in fighting Climate Change, but there is an economic argument to be made, and i hope the dnc can understand. 600 billion saved. We will have new industries that flourish. Tens of thousands of lives saved a year. And a nation where every state develops its own local, godgiven, harvestable, and neverending power source. No longer are we sending Energy Dollars outofstate and out of country. The only thing in our way blocking us from this transition is Political Leadership and courage. Longer anly no economic issue or technological issue. We are not 20 years away from being able to do this. It is happening now. The Party Candidate joined the join the party can today the ceos of apple, general of san diego,yors california, greensboro, kansas, and hundreds of thousands of every day he rose in buffalo, boulder, des moines, and miami. Americans are making 100 clean energy happen for employees, neighbors, and families across the country right now, today. As a party, we can pick up that pace, making sure that every american household, school, and business, has access to affordable clean energy, all while creating more good, stable jobs than we lose in the process, by millions. 100 clean energy is not only possible, it is happening. It is a personal issue for everyone who pays utility bills, foras to go to work myself, when i want to go and play in streams and rivers and have clean air and clean land and clean water. Want them toy, i grow up in a Clean Environment like you do, like every american does. The quicker america makes the , the quicker the rest of the world will follow us. America leads the way. We all know this. This primary season has shown us that the people of the country crave bold leadership. And a move to 100 clean energy is not only bold, it is also smart. Smart for our health, smart for the economy, smart for protecting water and air, and smart for global security. In future of democracy lies the ability to transition only from old, dirty fossil fuels, and the Democratic Party should be at the front lines of this transition. We deserve to have 100 clean energy for 100 of our people. That means everybody. This also deals with environmental racism as well. Economic racism. That is why i am here to urge of dnc to adopt a goal achieving 100 clean energy from 2050. Water, and sun by the time is now. Thank you. [applause] rep. Cumming thank you. [applause] ruffalo, i failed to give you a proper introduction, so i want everyone to know who you are. [laughter] mark ruffalo is hasmerican actor who starred in multiple critically acclaimed roles. During his acting career, he has received numerous awards and nominations, including a bafta , and oscar nomination for his role in the 2015 drama, spotlight. Mr. Ruffalo always has a long history of activism and humanitarianism, and has utilized his position to speak out in support of lgbt issues, clean water initiatives, and environmental preservation. The is the cofounder and board member of the solutions project. Hes also the founder of water defense, a nonprofit dedicated to clean water, rooted in the belief that access to clean water is a fundamental human right. . Any questions . Yes, mr. Mckibben. Begin ben you can even argue he started turning green in his role as the hulk. [laughter] mark, just to make absolutely clear, there are people who have described natural gas as clean energy for america. Could you describe what you mean by clean energy, and could you talk a little bit about the campaign you helped wage about fracking in new york state, ultimately successful with governor cuomos cooperation . Sure. Uffalo for a long time, people thought natural gas would be the bridge for the future. But what we came to find out, and what science has proved, is that natural gas is actually a gangplank to a more rapidly changing climate. Moreal gas is 100 times damaging, a house gas, a heat trapping gas, then co2 in a 70 year period, which makes it particularly dangerous. We cant seem to be able to keep it from leaking, no matter how hard we try and where we try to do it. Any kind of gains we thought we were making by transitioning to natural gas have actually basically exploded in our faces. I dont think it is any accident has Climate Change accelerated much beyond what many of the climate scientists were saying, while at the same time we were building up with giant natural gas infrastructure. But the fact of the matter is, we dont need natural gas aired scientists tell us we have to keep 80 of our carbon in the ground. We also have technologically advanced to such a point we can leapfrog over natural gas. We could hang glide to the future instead of carrying the natural gas as a bridge. Which leads me to new york, and why new york is such an important example of how to wage this upcoming struggle. In new york, we had the promise of natural gas. This was during the natural gas boom when there was scant information on how bad natural gas was, and how dangerous fracking was for communities. We were getting anecdotal information, but we did not have all the science yet. At the same time, we understood that we need power. We want to live in a modern world. People dont want to shut off their lights or turn off their airconditioning, they want to live modernly. We had to come up with a way forward that was equitable for the people and the governor. As the Health Studies were coming in, showing natural gas and fracking were not everything they were cracked up to be, and actually quite dangerous, we were proving to the governor that we could take the state to 100 Renewable Energy. He adopted that. Since then, new york state is now leading the nation in the buildout of solar, wind, and water generation. We are moving faster than any state in the nation. And we dont exactly have all of the sunshine you have an arizona, by the way, or people have in florida, but we are doing it. Weare doing it because created a space by saying we will move to 100 Renewable Energy. That gave politicians a place to move. It gave the citizenry a place to move. It enlightened people to a future that is bright, that has promise, the promises jobs. That doesnt send kids overseas to fight energy wars. People are thinking this together. Fightingem with Climate Change as people think they have to turn off their lives. But if we can find an alternative like Renewable Energy, and move quickly, they dont have to turn up anything. We will create more jobs and spread the wealth. Rep. Cummings we are going to take two questions. Representative reese and ms. Schaefer. Thank you for your testimony. I wanted to follow up on what was said by some of the Committee Members earlier. I know earlier this week at progress ohio, our chairman called in. This was an issue that came up, on the injured issue of environmental racial injustice. Heard about flint, low income communities, and the injustice we had heard about so many people, particularly africanamericans, getting cancer, or ms my mother had ms. They kind of deal with it, and they dont come together, to find out what caused these things. I know both candidates are firm on the issue of environmental betice, but should there some mention, and if so, what is that, to deal with racial and economic Environmental Justice . What would you recommend . I think theres a disconnect particularly in the urban low income areas about what is Environmental Justice. They just kind of deal with all the ailments. In my travels, what i have seen is there is an enormous amount of environmental as to the people on the front lines dealing with or drilling orts transportation of these fossil fuels. It has been my aim to empower those people. In los angeles, there are hundreds of drilling wells. I think they are putting it together. In los angeles, you have hundreds of drilling wells happening in neighborhoods of color. There is an organization, stand l. A. , which is standing against neighborhood drilling. They are informed. When you lift up their voices, they do a very good job of speaking for themselves. They carry a credibility that i dont have. We think we have to create some sort of system where we have to rescue these people. But these people, they want to fight for themselves. But we dont give them the tools to do it. We push it off to big or hope that politicians will do it. But there is a vibrant, Grassroots Movement building around these issues. Of this beautiful, democratizing tool called the internet, and keep it open and free for all the people we are seeing movement happening where there was not movement, and connections where there was not. What i think, and what van jones is already on to, is the opportunity, the economic opportunity, by making the transition. I will make some materials available to you. But we will have a 3. 5 million gain in jobs by transitioning to 3. 5 million gain in jobs by transitioning to 100 Renewable Energy. That is a net gain. Any job lost in any other sector because of this transition will be gained manyfold. But i think the more you can it tot to jobs tie jobs and economic opportunity, and in the places we are moving out in solar, we are seeing an enormous amount of people of color coming into that field. It is great paying. It has upward mobility. Fastest growing economic plane in the United States, where all the new wealth would be. It is a twopronged approach. Offer the jobs so they understand the connection, so we understand our connection to this change. And give them the tools to fight. Rep. Cumming thank you. I will have to get to miss schaefer. Mr. Ruffalo, thank you so much. We are upset you are not here in person. [laughter] call me crazy, but what i dont quite understand is if we have the answers, and we are all on the same page, and the same issues, why isnt this moving faster . It seems as if the horse is out of the barn, so to speak, and we are chasing it. Things are happening faster than we expected. Had a home in florida i know that the sea levels are rising. I see what is happening on the beach. All over,happening what you are talking about. We do need solar energy. We do need to tap into wind energy. Why arent we doing it . What is the holdup . We are not doing it fast enough. Mark ruffalo look, our country was built on fossil fuels. It is a 70yearold system that has been codified politically. It is a system that multiple regulations have been built around protecting. The fact we have such might around the world is because we adopted fossil fuels quicker than anyone. Our military might has been tied to it. We have a deeply entrenched system that is very old. We are going to have to fight. We are going to have to make people really uncomfortable. Our leaders are going to have to be strong. They are going to have to fight. It is literally just creating a space where people become so uncomfortable that they have to move off the position they are in. There is so much fossil fuel money pouring into our political system. It is corrupted. Corruptive. It simply is. I think we just have to fight. I think our leaders have to take off the gloves and tell it like it is, and be brutal, and make people accountable. I dont think theres any other at this point. Engage the public, and make the march. And when they march, make the media take notice. Rep. Cumming thank you very much. Thank you. [applause] dr. Susanng tiernney. She is an expert on Energy Policy and economics, specializing in the electric and gas industries. She has consulted to companies, governments, nonprofits, and other organizations on Energy Economic andll as environmental regulation and strategy. Welcome. Thank you so much. It is great to be here. Im not a movie star, but i spent all my time on Clean Energy Issues these days. I recently moved to colorado. Rockies girl, after being in boston for 35 years. That is quite a big head change, but it is nice to be in the west. We know that americans want clean, reliable, and affordable energy. Is thatt news, i think, in the past certainly since the Obama Administration has come in, we have been able to get all those things happening. That is driven by a combination of factors. One of them is the price pressure that natural gas has placed on coal, which has tremendously driven coal out of the market, and the Carbon Emissions associated with that. The advent of Renewable Energy is we just heard how strong it has been coming on. To the also contributing reliable, affordable, and Clean Energy Makes we have had. Clearly, environmental regulations, addressing toxic emissions from power plants has been a tremendous effect. Give you a couple of the signs of progress we have seen in the past few years. These are all metrics that i you with toobore much. But there are things we have done since the Obama Administration has come into washington. We are 12 down in terms of Carbon Dioxide emissions. We have had a threefold growth in wind generation. A 30fold growth in solar power generation. Those are tremendous. Renewable energy and smart grid technologies on the wires that enable integration of renewables, those together have attracted almost 450 billion in the last few years. With smartle sectors grid investments are the fastestgrowing Energy Related part of the job creation. Lots of progress. All of this has happened at a time when electricity prices in real terms are lower than they end, obama the administration coming in. We have had worldclass reliability. That provides access to energy in a tremendous way. Part of the story is also that we have made huge gains in energy efficiency, buildings, appliances, in vehicles. That has also contributed to the story i just described. Vehicle fuel economy, thanks to the administration, and other representatives in washington, has decreased rapidly after being flat for two decades. That is a tremendous increase. The increase in the Value Proposition for americans who have saved billions of dollars associated with these investments in energy efficiency. Today, compared to 2008, americans get 13 more Gross Domestic Product out of their electricity dollars. We have seen a much better injection of efficiency. Thanks to things like the clean , like the fuel economy standards, which are slated to bring in historic reductions in use of gasoline, we will continue to see this platform of progress going forward. All of those things have helped to provide the United States with the credibility and leverage that helped us see the Historic Deal in paris. We have had tremendous progress about that, and i encourage the Platform Committee, very respectfully, to recognize the gains we have had, and fight together to defend against the pushback we are seeing on the Clean Power Plan, on fuel economy standards, on methane emissions control regulations. I encourage everyone around the table to Work Together to defend against that plank. Meeting the paris commitments will require accelerating the transition we have already seen begun in the United States. We have to do so in a way that assures affordable and reliable supply of those energy resources, and products and services that americans demand. And we have to do that in a way that assures no one is left behind. I am a principled pragmatist, that means that we have to use all the tools we have available. As much as i personally would love it, we dont have a magic lever in this particular area. To meet our clean energy and climate goals, we have to have smart federal standards, affecting buildings, appliances, vehicles. We appropriate signals to investors in markets. We need sound investment in infrastructure and innovation. Personally, i think it is very important to defend against backsliding on the Climate Progress we have seen to date. Have athat means that we very strong commitment to ensuring that safely operating existing Nuclear Plans continue. Nuclear plants today represent almost two thirds of the zero carbon emitting electricity in the country. We have already seen losses in vermont and other places around the country. Another announced today in the middle of the country. Every time one of those plants retires in the real world, that is being replaced with a fossil fuel generation. So, prematurely retiring such plans plants will create a much bigger challenge than we have already got. I think the federal government has so much to look forward to and to continue to do in working with states and localities. We have heard today about the kinds of progress those groups have made in this area. And they continue to provide us with tremendous examples of the laboratories of democracy. And they, with the support in washington, can be the engines for change in this new energy economy. We need to increase federal investment in clean energy infrastructure. That includes electricity transmission, as well as mass transit. We need to invest in research and development for zero Carbon Resources into the futures, and that would include the direction nuclear, and Carbon Capture and sequestration. Democrats have so much to offer in terms of leadership on these issues. I really hope we can keep the white house blew this the this fall. Blue too many republicans deny Climate Change, or they doubt americans ability to address these challenges we have been hearing about, and they ignore the impact of fundamental Market Forces on the fossil industries, that is seeing this shift to a cleaner economy in rapid fashion. Democrats know American Ingenuity and entrepreneurialism is fully up to the task. So, i hope you will Work Together to continue our leadership in transforming this nations clean energy economy. Thank you for your service. [applause] thank you. Rep. Cummings mr. Booth. Mr. Booth you said you are not an advocate of being a magic bullet. We have to write a platform that is going to be persuasive to the american people. Do you think that, if you could describe it, if there is a way for us to simultaneously commit the Democratic Party to the what some ofls of the prior witnesses have called changesot just the implied by the paris agreement, but much more ambitious even and at the same time not communicate that so many working families around the country that we are just throwing them under the bus in the transition, that there is a path to achieve those goals and preserve the livelihoods of people who are working in the electricity and other branches of the Economy Today . I cant tell you i heard every single word you said but i have the just. But i think i got the gist of it. The acoustics are not great so i apologize. I think that goes to my point that i think we have to make tremendous progress on this urgent issue of Climate Change clearly. We operate in a world in which energy is in the hands of the private sector in the United States. We need to make sure that we send signals to investors and to workers to make the changes that we are describing. There is big progress, but we still need to keep all of those tools there, because theres a variety of jobs in the new economy, and we need to transition in a way that works for working people around the country. Rep. Cumming thank you. That will be the last question. Thank you for your testimony. I really appreciate it. Agreed with many things you said in your testimony. One area i think we will have to agree to disagree is nuclear power. Senator sanders, as you know, has been a strong opponent of nuclear power. One of the main reasons is where do you store Nuclear Waste . We still have not resolved that issue. I know there was a situation with the indian Power Nuclear plant in new york which is 25 miles away from new york city, where 10 Million People live. There have been many errors that have been found to have happened at that plant. I think one of the main questions that i have to you is the question i just brought up, where do you store the Nuclear Waste of our Nuclear Powered facilities . On all, you point tremendously challenging problem. It happens to be something i have been looking at for 30 years, and we had a continuing challenge politically of addressing that issue. I think there are approaches. Right now, we are storing Nuclear Waste at 99 sites around the country. That is where we are storing it. That said, like senator sanders i butchered his name and i apologize. For many, many years, i was adamantly opposed to nuclear power. Age. At my i was of a group where there were tremendous protests surrounding the deciding of nuclear plants. The carbon problem that we have globally is what changed my mind on this issue. The Nuclear Waste that exists at the existing plants is existing already. We have to figure out how to resolve it. Science has moved to identify , in place storage i firstompared to when started 30 years ago, but we need to have a permanent solution, eventually. Retirementpremature of safely operating nuclear it would putbe us back so far on our climate goals. Rep. Cumming we are very pleased be do it be joined by carol browner. We are glad you are back. You have a question . My apologies. Thank you so much for joining us and thank you for all of your work. I too took the same journey on nuclear. It was something i opposed for a long time but i took on climate and the challenge and the dangers of climate and it occurred to me that i simply could not oppose a carbon free source of energy at this point in time as we transition. Can you talk a little bit about the role that the that is something that is really challenging as we try and transition away from certain types of energy. How do we maintain baseload while we bring in the new other carbon free sources of energy. Right now the Nuclear Fleet of 99 reactors around the country provides to third two thirds of the energy generation