. >> mr. welch? >> i would not limit the federal backstop citing authority. >> mr. miller? >> i think we would support limiting it and also respecting the fourth circuit opinion that we were involved in. >> thank you. do you support federal backup citing authority for lines for any reason other than reliability? >> no, i would not. >> you could talk a little bit about that first map which mr. miller put up which showed very rich wind resources along the east coast of the united states, with the exception of some portions of the great lakes and out on the west coast it looks like it's -- it has the greatest potential for renewable electricity generation in our country. >> you're absolutely right, mr. chairman. as i mentioned we're pursuing a 150 mega watt wind farm and as you mentioned we can do that 20 miles out and be in 140 feet of water. that's not to underestimate the challenges of construction and operations and maintenance costs. we expect to fully bear the cost of the short haul transmission and which would be opposed to having a nationwide support for a long haul tr

welch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from vermont is recognized for 90 seconds. mr. welch: thank you. i thank my colleague. madam speaker, a confident nation acknowledges the challenge it faces. it doesn't ignore them. a confident people faced with a challenge rolls up its sleeves and addresses the problem before them. madam speaker, today congress has two questions. the first is, will it acknowledge the challenge of global warming that it is real, that it is urgent and that it demands attention now? and, second, will congress by this first step of passing this legislation unleash the power of america to take that step towards american energy independence, to unleash the brilliance of our scientists and engineers to develop alternative and renewable energy, to unleash the competitiveness of our entrepreneurs to bring to market energy-saving devices and to create jobs in america? the frugality and thriftiness of our homeowners and business observers who have buildings, to be able to -- business owners who have buildings, to save money, the skills of our masons, carpen

thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. welch. if you have an opening statement, give yourself a second to get situated and you have three minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate this hearing and the circumstances that bring us here today are really unfortunate. despite signs that the economic downturn has slowed and maybe even turning around, many americans are still unemployed or fearful of losing their jobs, and for some, it this fear is very real. today, chrysler and gm, are closing more than 2,000 dealerships nationwide with potential job losses numbering in the hundreds of thousands. this move will impact every state and city in the united states. on tuesday, 789 chrysler dealerships closed their doors including some in chicago. about where i'm from, about 2500 gm dealers closed by the end of the year. there are three gm dealers in my district and another four nearby that my constituents depend on. there's been no public announcement of whether any of those businesses will close but the employees and their families

welch? >> i without limit the federal backstop. >> mr. miller? >> i think we would support limiting it and also respecting the opinion were involved in. >> thank you. mr. izzo, the support fackrell back up siding authority for lines for any reason other than reliability? >> no, i would not. >> could you talk a little bit about that first map, which mr. miller put up that showed a very rich wind resources along the east coast of the united states, with the exception of some portions of the great lakes and out on the west coast. it looks like it is, has the greatest potential for renewable electricity generation in our country.

i yield one minute to mr. welch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from vermont is recognized for one minute. mr. welch: there is little doubt that oil is a finite resource and we are at or near peak oil, the threat to our economy need, the need to act urgent. and while our friends on the other side say how it will affect jobs and utility bills, those legitimate concerns have been exhaustively addressed in this legislation. but what they fail to acknowledge is that the cost of inaction is great in lost opportunity for jobs, a cleaner environment and a stronger economy. many of the new jobs in vermont and around the country are related to the new clean energy economy. madam speaker, today congress will make a very fundamental decision. will america confidentially and he directly declare a policy of american energy independence? will it unleash the talents of our scientists and engineers, empower our entrepreneurs and manufacturers? will it put to work our carpenters and plumbers, through efficiency, through renew

mr. welch: thank you, mr. speaker. it's my honor today to offer a warm welcome home to a soldier who sacrificed to his country and to thank all of those who are working to make his return home a successful one. private first class andrew parker enlisted in the united states army after graduating from high school in 2007. on november 20, 2008, his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb near kandahar. andrew suffered injuries that left his paralyzed from the chest down. during the months andrew spent recovering in d.o.d. and v.a. hospitals his neighbors and friends in vermont worked together to complete an incredible project to modify his home to make it accessible to him upon his return. his kindergarten teacher and countless of individuals and company spent time, money and labor to make it possible for andrew to return to home with a new addition to his home, a living room, a bedroom, a bath and a bay for his new van. now andrew will have the resources he needs to focus on rebuilding his strength as he works to fulfill

modes of new hampshire, mr. welch, mr. mann zulea, mr. stearns, mr. brown and mrs. miller. the speaker pro tempore: clause 10 of rule 1 and the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the following house to the british interparliamentary group. the clerk: mr. chandler of kentucky, chairman, mr. sir is, mr. clyburn of south carolina, mr. etheridge of north carolina, mr. bishop of new york, mr. pete try of wisconsin, mr. crenhaw and mr. aderholt and mr. latta of ohio. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 578 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the competent committee of the whole in the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2996. the chair appoints the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: house is in the committee of the whole on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2996, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of interior, environment and related agencies for the fiscal ye

the chair now recognizes mr. welch. >> thank you. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. bernanke i have one comment into questions. my comment is thank you for your incredible service and very turbulent times. you have been very steady and all of us appreciate that. two questions, one that mr. lewis and is following up on what mr. fortenberry was asking about. mr. lewis was here and he had a number of different stories on a single transaction. >> told the shareholders that this merrill deal with a great deal for them and persisted in that story even in december after he found out about $9 billion additional deterioration into frankly my amazement and shock he never bothered to tell the shareholders the news that led him to add extra assertion he made that it was so dire that he might invoke the nuclear option of the mac klauss. and then he told us basically that, using his words, he did not use the word fret but he said there was heavy pressure from the fed and treasury to go through with this deal, with the assurance that the american tax they payer would back up any of

last but not least, mr. welch from vermont opening statement, 3 minutes, please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and mr. walden i really appreciate you calling this hearing. i'm going to be reat the pettive. the reason i'm going to be repetitive, this is a catastrophe for every community where we have car dealers that have been doing a good job and you guys know it. i mean, mike doyle was talking about the family dealerships. i was talking to the

. >> with that, mr. welch, your time is expired. and let me say thank you once again to our witnesses for what truly has been an informative session. long-delayed but well worth our time talking to you and we thank you very much for taking your time all day, in fact, to talk to us. i have clearance for unanimous consent from the minority to place in the record a letter to the subcommittee, the joint subcommittees actually from the federal trade commission concerning the subject today's hearing. a letter from data foundry, a data company based in austin, texas, without objection, those will be made a part of the record and without objection, the record of this proceeding will be kept open for a period of three weeks so that other members of the subcommittee can submit to our witnesses questions in writing. and as you receive those questions from the members, if you could respond to them promptly, that would be much appreciated. well, thanks again to you for an excellent hearing. this hearing stands adjourned. çíp]%+

waters, as well as my colleague from vermont, mr. welch, is a program that provides grants to public housing agencies for energy retrofits and green energy. this is a great bill. this is a good bill. this bill should pass. i urge all of my colleagues to vote and support of this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: madam speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to a member of the committee, mr. rogers from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. rogers: my appreciation to your years in the house, my congratulations and great success in your new endeavor. i agree, madam speaker, with president obama and warren buffett. under this bill, quote, electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket. under this bill we cite the single largest energy tax in the united states history. warren buffett called it a huge tax. very poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity, end quote. l

. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> now, yield to congressman welch from vermont. >> thank you, mr. chairman and mr. lewis for being here. a couple of questions. my understanding is that the original transaction started out as a private deal between bank of america and merrill lynch, rr

. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> now, yield to congressman welch from vermont. >> thank you, mr. chairman and mr. lewis for being here. a couple of questions. my understanding is that the original transaction started out as a private deal between bank of america and merrill lynch, correct. >> yes, sir. >> and you did the due diligence, financial review, to make you come to the conclusion that it was in the best interest of the shareholders of bank of america to proceed, correct. >> that's correct. >> and then some time after you made this decision, you became aware of the $12 billion additional hole in the balance she sheet, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> and that was on december 14, 2008? >> that's when we saw the accelerating losses. >> well, that's when -- accelerating as in $12 billion additional? >> correct. yes, sir. >> now your shareholders had already voted to approve the merger based on information you had provided up to that point, is that correct? >> yes. >> but the $12 billion figure that you became aware of on december 14th was of such magnitude that it made you be

i would just conclude with this, mr. speaker. i'm going to paraphrase joe welch. let us not assassinate this process further. you've done enough. have you no sense of decency at long last? have you left no sense of decency? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, after that speaker, i find it necessary to correct him with regard to a portion of his screed. please no that in the process that he referenced, one of our members, who is a subcommittee chair of appropriations, the committee chair, mr. obey, handled the matters. when the member referred to by the previous speaker recused himself and on the floor, when the matter was brought here, the committee chair handled that matter. now i heard that gentleman talk about shenanigans. let me tell you something, mr. speaker. what happened in the house of representatives yesterday, and i'm only hear 17 years, but the dean of the house of representatives, mr. dingell was down here this morning for a one minute and spoke of the disgrace that took place yes

shadegg of arizona for today, and mr. welch of vermont after 2:00 p.m. today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the personal requests are granted. does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i do. mr. speaker, i ask to address the house for one minute for purposes about inquiring next week's schedule. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield to the gentleman from maryland, the majority leader, for the purpose of announcing next week's schedule. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the gentleman from maryland. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. on monday the house is not in session. on tuesday the house will meet at 10:30 a.m. for morning hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. on wednesday and thursday at 10:00 a.m. on friday the house will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. we will consider several bills un