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Inslee selected for special congressional debate on energy policy

July 23, 2008

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), a congressional expert on clean energy and author of the New Apollo Energy Act, was chosen to be one of just eight lawmakers who will debate U.S. energy policy on Monday at Tulane University in New Orleans.  The forum will be the third in a series of “Congress Debates” that were launched in February by the House Democratic Caucus and the House Republican Conference to foster bipartisan discourse on key issues of the day.

“I look forward to contrasting our can-do vision for a clean-energy future with a can’t-do plan for continued addiction to fossil fuels,” said Inslee, who serves on the House Natural Resources and House Energy and Commerce committees and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Debate participants will include Republican U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann from Minnesota, Denny Rehberg from Montana, Fred Upton from Michigan, and Zach Wamp from Tennessee.  In addition to Inslee, Democrats will include U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer from Oregon, Hilda Solis from California and Bart Stupak from Michigan.

At a time of skyrocketing gas prices, energy policy will be the focus of the New Orleans debate, which will be hosted by the Entergy-Tulane Energy Institute.  The 11 a.m. CDT to 12:30 p.m. CDT forum at Tulane University's Lavin-Bernick Center will be moderated by a representative of “The Politico,” a political newspaper and website based in the nation’s capital.  The debate also will be broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and live-streamed at www.NextGenWeb.org.

The first in the “Congress Debates” series took place in February 25 at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and dealt with economic policy.  In April, the second debate occurred at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where lawmakers discussed health-care policy.