Tag Archives: Rush Holt

Hon. Rush D. Holt, on the Budget Control Act of 2011

The Hon. Rush D. Holt, NJ 12  Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet Popular Logistics is a policy blog, not a politics blog. However, politicians make policy. The Honorable Rush D. Holt, NJ-12, said this on Monday, August 1, 2011, when casting a vote against the “Budget Control Act of 2011.”

SPEECH OF

HON. RUSH D. HOLT

OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MONDAY AUGUST 1, 2011


BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011

Mr. Speaker, the default debate is, at its heart, a debate between two visions for America. One side envisions rebuilding our country, investing in jobs and education and infrastructure, and rising from the Great Recession as a stronger and more resilient Nation. The other side accepts a pessimistic vision of a weakened America with a shrunken government–a Nation hampered by deep cuts to the safety net and hobbled by a refusal to invest in our future.

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NREL: "30% Wind Power by 2024"

Arklow Bank Wind Farm

Arklow Bank Wind Farm, photo Courtesy GE Power

NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a branch of the Department of Energy, released the findings of the “Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study, (Summary) that said:

“wind energy could provide 20 to 30 percent of the eastern half of the country’s energy needs by 2024: here’s how … “

Rush Holt, the Democrat who represents the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey, described the study in an e-mail to his constituents. Holt wrote:

“Achieving this goal would require a substantial investment both onshore and offshore.  The production of wind energy is increasing rapidly. According to the American Wind Energy Association, last year energy production increased by more than 9,000 megawatts, bringing America’s total wind power generating capacity to 35,000 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million homes. Little of this wind energy, however, is being produced in the Northeast.”

Rush Holt, D, NJ-12

Rush Holt, D, NJ-12

“If we are to take advantage of wind power – particularly offshore wind – then we would need to begin to install turbines in windy places in the East and begin to develop rapidly our capacity to manufacture turbines in the United States. Just miles off New Jersey’s shore, the ocean breeze blows reliably at up to 20 miles an hour, the same rate as in the Great Plains. Last year the Department of the Interior conducted a survey of the resources that could be recovered from the Outer Continental Shelf.  It found that responsibly developing offshore wind could provide 1,000 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power the electricity use of 60 percent of cities on the East Coast and replace 3,000 medium-sized coal powered power plants.  New Jersey has been at the forefront of this effort, as I discussed with the Secretary of the Interior last year in New Jersey. One private venture has committed to build a $1 billion, 345 megawatt wind farm in the ocean off Atlantic City, and two other projects have been approved by the Department of the Interior.  Congress should encourage more investment to ensure we take advantage of this resource and help fuel the transition to a sustainable energy future.”

At Popular Logistics we believe that we can achieve 100% clean energy by 2020. However, we will be happy to see 30% wind power for the eastern half of the country, coupled with 30% wind power for the western half of the country, 30% solar, and the balance from hydro, geothermal, and conservation, by 2024.

Holt, a PhD physicist, was Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory before running for Congress. He understands energy. We hope his colleagues in the Congress, and the White House, listen.

Obama and Holt on Health Care

President Obama

President Obama

Washington, DC, Nov. 7, 2009, 11:00 PM. The U. S. House of Representatives passed a health care bill that appears to profoundly change the system.

According to President Obama, (click here or  here)

Comprehensive health care reform can no longer wait. Rapidly escalating health care costs are crushing family, business, and government budgets. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have doubled in the last 9 years, …. This forces families to sit around the kitchen table to make impossible choices between paying rent or paying health premiums. … The United States spent approximately $2.2 trillion on health care in 2007, or $7,421 per person – nearly twice the average of other developed nations. Americans spend more on health care than on housing or food. If rapid health cost growth persists, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2025, one out of every four dollars in our national economy will be tied up in the health system. This growing burden will limit other investments and priorities that are needed to grow our economy. Rising health care costs also affect our economic competitiveness in the global economy, as American companies compete against companies in other countries that have dramatically lower health care costs.

According to Rush Holt, D, NJ-12, (click here or here)

Rep. Rush Holt, D, NJ-12

Rep. Rush Holt, D, NJ-12

This bill would provide secure and stable health coverage regardless of whether you change jobs or are between jobs, ensure Americans will never be denied care if they get sick, and extend coverage to those not well served by the current system.

This is a historic vote and the furthest we have come toward providing affordable and quality health coverage to all Americans.

Once this bill becomes law, it immediately would eliminate cases where insurance benefits run out because of an expensive illness, would allow young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance through age 26, and would shrink the Medicare prescription doughnut hole.

The bill would strengthen and extend existing programs.  For example, those who have health insurance through their employers would benefit from caps on yearly out of pocket costs.  Under the legislation, Medicare would be intact, only better – recipients would benefit from free preventive care and better primary care.  Clickhere to read more about what the bill would do for you.

Reform would preserve the relationship between families and their doctors and shift to a focus on healthy outcomes and rewarding physicians for treating the whole patient.

Representative Rush Holt on Health Care Legislation

In an e-mail to supporters, Rush Holt, D, NJ-12 said,

Rep. Rush Holt, Ph.D.

Rep. Rush Holt, Ph.D.

I just now voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act. I want you to know about this development and what the bill means for you. This bill would provide secure and stable health coverage regardless of whether you change jobs or are between jobs, ensure Americans will never be denied care if they get sick, and extend coverage to those not well served by the current system.

This is a historic vote and the furthest we have come toward providing affordable and quality health coverage to all Americans. Continue reading