I’m glad to be back on Kos. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to exchange ideas, in the best tradition of this extraordinary medium. I've enjoyed the chance to engage thousands of real people through Kos, Huffpo, and other sites, as well as my own website: www.andrewromanoff.com.
As the Speaker of the House, I made our legislature more accessible and transparent than ever before. I will fight to ensure that the Internet remains as open and democratic as possible.
Let me begin by sharing two articles I recently published on the Huffington Post, both aimed at revolutionizing America’s energy policy.
Like all Americans, I am heartbroken and angry about the disaster of the Gulf. Unlike my opponent and most of his colleagues, however, I believe we should seize this opportunity to replace fossil fuel subsidies with a boost for the clean energy economy.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate had a chance to do exactly that. Senate Amendment 4318 would have repealed more than $35 billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and used the savings to reduce the deficit and invest in energy efficiency and conservation. A majority of senators – including my opponent – voted no.
Plenty of politicians promise to stand up to special interests. But actions speak louder than words. Real reform requires courage: the courage to take on your corporate contributors – or, better yet, to turn down their cash in the first place.
Last week, I compared the catastrophe in the Gulf to the Sputnik launch of 1957. The Soviets’ surprising success in space jolted Americans into action. What we need now is a "new Apollo program" of energy independence, including a national renewable energy standard.
Increasing our use of renewable energy will pay enormous dividends for our public health, our environment, our economy and our national security. We can speed the day when we no longer have to spoil our oceans or foul our skies or spill our blood just to power our planet.
As President Kennedy said half a century ago, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."
I’m happy to take your questions.