Speeches
Pelosi: 'Today We Lead by Example in Preserving Our Planet for Future Generations'
06/21/2007
Washington,
D.C. - Speaker Pelosi held a news conference this morning on the
completion of the 'Green the Capitol' report. Below are her opening
remarks:
“Good morning.
“Today is an historic day for the House of Representatives
of the United States Congress. It’s
historic as we are surrounded by monuments to past leaders, the legacy of our
great country with a commitment to the future.
“Nothing we can say is more eloquent than what these
children are saying with their artwork about protecting the environment and
greening the Capitol as we do so. We are
joined by these beautiful children who have illustrated what it means to be
‘green.’ Our work here today is to green
the Capitol on their behalf, on behalf of the future.
“I am proud that we are joined by our esteemed Committee
Chairs, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the subcommittee chair on
Appropriations, Congressman Peter Welch, a leader on this issue, the chair of
our Science and Technology committee, Bart Gordon, the chair of our select
committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Ed Markey, the Chairman on
House Administration Committee, the mayor of Capitol Hill, Bob Brady.
“I would like to thank the House’s Chief Administrative
Officer Dan Beard for his report on how to green the Capitol. It is a privilege, Dan, to accept the
recommendations in this report today.
“These are serious proposals that will result in significant
change. Furthermore, I’m particularly
proud that this plan would reduce the carbon footprint of the House by reducing
energy consumption by 50 percent in the next 10 years.
“Today we say that the Capitol will be not just a shining
symbol of our democracy, but a symbol of our commitment to the future. Not only by the power of our ideas on energy
independence, but by the power of our example, we hope to send a message to the
world and to the country.
“We believed we had to get our own House in order before we
launched a sweeping global warming and energy independence agenda for the rest
of the nation. Next week we will
announce our first steps in that agenda; today we lead by example in preserving
our planet for future generations.
“It is especially gratifying for me today to be able to
introduce the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Senator Reid. He is also joined from the Senate side by the
Assistant Leader, Richard Durbin of