Education

• Educational Training
  • With a vote of 416-0 the House of Representative approved the Green Energy Education Act of 2007 (H.R. 1716) in June of 2007. The bill will allow the Secretary of Energy to contribute research and development funds to the National Science Foundation for the purpose of supporting graduate education that is related to energy technology. It also authorizes the Secretary to provide funds for the improvement of undergraduate and graduate engineering and architecture curriculum on the design and construction of "high performance buildings." Representative Walberg voted for this bill. H.R. 1716 was ultimately integrated into the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 2272) which is now law, but was not fully funded in the budget.
• Educational Funding
  • Representative Walberg voted for the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362). The legislation will require the National Science Foundation to increase its funding of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program with the goal of increasing the number of math and science teachers by up to 10,000 per year. The Noyce program provides scholarships to math, science, technology, and engineering students who commit to becoming teachers upon graduation. The legislation passed with a vote of 389-22.
• Teaching Evolution/Intelligent Design
  • Nothing posted to date

Energy

• Fuel Economy Standards
  • See discussion of CLEAN Energy Act under Renewable Energy section.
• Nuclear Power
  • Nothing posted to date
• Renewable Energy
  • In January of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). This legislation is intended to address a royalties oversight that occurred when the Department of the Interior issued leases for off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 1999. The bill would also deny income tax deductions for oil and gas companies. Revenues generated from these provisions would be used for the development of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources. Opponents of the bill claimed that the legislation would raise costs for the domestic production of oil and could increase foreign oil imports. Representative Walberg voted against this legislation, which passed with a vote of 264-163.
    
    During consideration of H.R. 6 in June of 2007, the Senate changed the focus of the legislation into developing a more comprehensive energy bill that focused on the development of renewable fuels, energy conservation, and increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007. Representative Walberg voted against this bill. The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.
  • In August 2007, Representative Walberg voted against the final passage of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 3221). The legislation would provide tax incentives to promote the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including guaranteeing up to $1 billion in loans for the development of biorefineries and biofuel production facilities. The measure also would repeal tax deductions to income attributed to the domestic production of oil and natural gas. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-172 and was sent to the Senate.
    
    A controversial amendment to the bill was H. Amdt. 748 sponsored by Representative Udall. This amendment would require retail electric suppliers to provide 15% of their electricity through a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020. Representative Walberg voted against the amendment, which was adopted with a vote of 220 to 190.

Press Releases on Energy

• On January 18, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his vote against H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, which would increase the production of clean renewable fuels and the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government.
• On February 8, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 547, the Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act, which would fund the development of markets for biofuels and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel through research and development.
• On March 23, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release stating his opposition to H.R. 1252, the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act, which would prosecute and penalize those found be engaging in price gouging of oil.
• On May 3, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his introduction of H.R. 2178, the Energy Independence Act, which would create a 2% national standard for bio-diesel for use motor vehicles in five years.
• On May 10, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support of a provision in H.R. 2256, the American Commercial Ethanol Fairness Act of 2007, which would create credits against income tax for the use of ethanol in tetra ethyl ortho silicate.
• On Jun 15, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his opposition to legislation that would raise corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards.
• On July 3, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support of H.R. 2784, the National Environment and Energy Development (NEED) Act, which would allow for American natural gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf while directing obtained royalties to renewable fuels research and environmental cleanup and restoration.
• On February 29, 2008, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his vote against H.R. 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, which repeals federal subsidies for oil companies and reinvests the funds in renewable energy research and development.
• On April 25, 2008, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support of H.R. 3089, the No More Excuses Energy Act, which would encourage the construction of new refineries, boost alternative energy development by extending the Wind Production Tax Credit for 10 years, increase American oil production by allowing environmentally sound drilling in Alaska, the Outer-Continental Shelf and the Gulf of Mexico and help increase our supply of electricity by encouraging the construction of new nuclear power plants.

Link used: http://walberg.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=65961

Environment

Press Releases on the Environment

• On March 20, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support for H.R. 658, the Natural Resource Protection Cooperative Agreement Act, which allows cooperative agreements to protect natural resources of units of the National Park System.
• On April 20, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his vote of support for H.R. H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), which would provide funding for the conservation and development of water and related resources.
• On May 7, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support for two pieces of legislation: H.R. 553, the Great Lakes Asian Carp Barrier Act, which would authorize funding, construction and maintenance of a double barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to stop the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, and H.R. 1350, the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act of 2007, which addressses sewage contamination, prevention of invasive species introductions and restoration of wetlands in the Great Lakes.
• On October 22, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his support for Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Act, H.R. 767, which would protect, conserve, and restore native fish, wildlife, and their natural habitats at national wildlife refuges and eradicate nonnative species.
• On November 6, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his vote to override the President's veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which would provide funding for the conservation and development of water and related resources.

Climate Change

• Nothing posted to date

Health

• Healthcare
  • In April of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 420-3. Representative Walberg voted for this bill. If enacted, GINA will prevent health insurance companies from adjusting premiums on the basis of genetic information and forbid requiring individuals to undergo genetic tests. The bill will also prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information. This legislation was passed by the Senate in a vote of 95-0. The House passed the Senate amended version of the bill on May 1, 2008, by a vote of 415-1. Rep Ron Paul was the only representative to vote against the bill. President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008.
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • On June 7, 2007, Congressman Tim Walberg issued a press release announcing his opposition to legislation that expands taxpayer funding of human embryo-destroying stem cell research.
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Representative Walberg was not in office and did not vote for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
• Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Representative Walberg was not in office and did not vote for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
  • On September 25, 2007, the House passed the final version of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act” (H.R. 976) with a vote of 265-169. This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. Opponents saw the bill as too costly and were critical of the funding methods for the program, including a cigarette tax increase (read the floor debate). Representative Walberg voted against this legislation.
  • On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. The House attempted to override the President’s veto, but the measure failed to pass with a vote count of 273-156. Representative Walberg voted against the veto override. On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly increase the program.
  • On January 23, 2008, the House once again failed with a vote of 260-152 to pass H.R. 3963 to override President Bush’s veto of SCHIP. Representative Walberg voted against this legislation.

Innovation

• On August 9, 2007, President Bush signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 2272) into law. The law authorizes the doubling of funding for the National Science Foundation over the next seven years, increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and competitive grants for teachers and schools with the goal of strengthening the quality of education in science, math, and critical foreign languages. The bill was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and was agreed to by a vote of 367-57 by the House after being reconciled in a conference committee. Representative Walberg voted for this legislation. The America COMPETES Act was not fully funded in 2008.

Research and Research Management

• Funding
  • In May of 2007, Representative Walberg voted for the final passage of the National Science Foundation Funding Authorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 1867), which authorizes appropriations for the National Science Foundation for the fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The final vote count was 399 to 17.
    
    During debate on this legislation, H. Amdt. 128 was offered by Rep. Honda that will allow the NSF to support the creation of K-12 curriculum focused on global warming, climate change, and actions people can take to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Sullivan of Oklahoma offered a secondary amendment, H. Amdt. 129, that would have required the education materials referenced in Rep. Honda’s amendment to "reflect the diversity of scientific opinion, including the diversity of opinion regarding the impact of human activities on climate change." Congressional Democrats criticized the Sullivan amendment as seeming "to suggest that there is an equal weight of evidence against that perspective [that humans are causing climate change] as there is in favor of it" (read the full debate). The Sullivan amendment failed by a vote of 166 to 250. The Honda Amendment passed by a vote of 252 to 165.
    
    Representative Walberg voted for the Sullivan amendment and voted against the Honda Amendment.