TRACKING OUR LEGISLAGTORS SERIES - BOCCIERI: HAS HE MADE HIMSELF VULNERABLE IN THE COMPETITIVE 16TH ON "CAP-AND-TRADE?"

Let yours truly say right up front, the SCPR supports Congressman Boccieri's support for cap-and-trade legislation which passed the U.S. House of Representatives recently by a very narrow margin.

Because the SCPR did not make this forum a "public-relations arm" of the Boccieri campaign, a staffer called The Report and made caustic and derisive comments about the substance of the blog which you can see by CLICKING HERE.

Obviously, the Boccieri folks have some growing up to do.

The SCPR makes poignant points of friend and foe alike. The main point about Boccieri's vote?

He was against cap-and-trade before he was for it (flip-flopping?)

In a video accompanying the earlier blog, Boccieri is caught by the camera saying he looked the president in the eye and told him he was against the bill.

Well, Boccieri and his people did not like the characterization of "flip-flopping" and they did not like that the SCPR did not go into a justification of why he changed his vote.

Today, yours truly will do so because it is apparent that he is the target of a partisan campaign being launched by the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.

Politico - a national political blog - has written (07/03/2009):

The NRCC target list included some of the most vulnerable Democrats, like Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey and Ohio Reps. John Boccieri, (emphasis added) Mary Jo Kilroy and Zack Space. But the campaign committee also went after senior Democrats, like Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher — who negotiated large portions of the bill — Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon of Tennessee and Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri.

The campaign against Boccieri et al can be summed up in the graphic below put out by the conservative Heritage Foundation:

The SCPR did send the Boccieri forces an e-mail with specific questions so as to set up his rebuttal to the claims of the graphic and to a anti cap-and-trade resolution passed by the Republican dominated Ohio senate.

No response so far. And, the SCPR suspects that the Boccieri camp will not respond. Yours truly is beginning to believe that the congressman cherry picks what he will answer and will not answer.

But as a bouquet to the complainers on the Boocieri staff here is Boccier's press release justification for being (may the SCPR say it) a "flip-flopper."

“This legislation represents the next step toward freeing our nation from its dependence on foreign resources and it will help fuel our economic recovery,” said Boccieri. “This is about creating jobs right here at home that cannot be outsourced, protecting our national security, and helping our manufacturers retool to thrive in a new green economy. This is about making America stronger.”

To ensure United States manufacturing sector will thrive and expand in a new clean energy economy, Boccieri worked with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ohio Rep. Zack Space (D-18) to secure language in the energy bill that will improve the long-term competitiveness of American manufactures and enhance domestic capacity for manufacturing clean energy technologies.

“This confirms that climate change legislation is an opportunity for Ohio manufacturing,” Brown said. “I applaud Rep. Boccieri for fighting to include the IMPACT Act in the House bill. By creating a funding source to help Ohio manufacturers retool, we can revive Ohio manufacturing through investments in clean energy. This will go a long way toward making Ohio the Silicon Valley of clean energy manufacturing.”

The legislation will create a system of clean energy incentives to spur the development of new sources of energy while confronting the threat posed by carbon emissions. These incentives will lead to innovations that will create new, good-paying jobs and ensure America will continue to lead in the 21^st century global economy.

The domestic manufacturing industry accounts for 12 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and almost three quarters of our nation’s research and development. Yet the industry continues to suffer from job loss and a reduction in demand.

To retool our manufacturers and ensure their long term survival, a provision originally authored by Senator Brown was added to the House bill by Reps. Boccieri and Space to create a $30 billion revolving loan program for states to help auto suppliers and other small and mid-sized manufactures retool, expand, and establish clean energy operations to improve energy efficiency. The provision also modernizes the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) with $1.5 billion in federal funds over five years to help manufacturers diversify to clean energy markets and technologies. Working together, Brown and the Ohio Congressmen intend to create jobs with this energy bill and ensure our country can compete in the global economy.

Additionally, language in the bill secured by Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-09) will lay the groundwork for the Midwest region to develop a regional power authority. Currently, Ohio and its surrounding states make up the only section of the country without a regional power authority, which can funnel federal investment into energy and electrical grid infrastructure.

“This language makes sure Ohio is no longer left out in the cold when it comes to electricity distribution investment,” Boccieri noted.

H.R. 2454 reinforces and invests in renewable energy initiatives already happening in the 16^th Congressional district, including the anaerobic digesters being studied at OARDC in Wooster; new battery technology research for plug in hybrids like that being done at the EBO Group in Medina; research into fuel cell technology like that at Stark State; and investment in sustainable biofuels like those that can be grown in Ashland County. The American Clean Energy and Security Act builds a smarter, stronger electric grid on which homes, businesses and vehicles of the future will run.

“Nearly everyone agrees our national security is threatened by our dependence on foreign resources, and there’s little credible disagreement about whether carbon emissions are harming the Earth,” Boccieri added. “We know that the jobs of the future will be based on clean, renewable energy. It’s our responsibility to see to it that America leads the way in securing energy independence, safeguarding our planet, and protecting our jobs so that we can compete in a new, green world.”