mr. chairman , i ask my colleagues to join us today in defeating the previous question so that we can bring back a rule that will allow us to debate an amendment that would increase funding for research and development for new energy technologies by $ 250 million . 
yesterday , congresswoman allyson schwartz of pennsylvania , requested a waiver from the rules committee so that she could offer this amendment on the floor , but she was denied that opportunity . 
mr. chairman , for 4 years now , the republicans in congress have brought us an energy policy bill that provides billions in subsidies to traditional energy industries already reaping record profits . 
according to the new york times , the top 10 biggest oil companies earned more than $ 100 billion last year , and their combined sales are expected to exceed $ 1 trillion , which is more than canada 's gross domestic product . 
just a few weeks ago , republican leaders brought to the house floor an energy bill that devoted 93 percent of its tax incentives to oil , gas and other traditional energy industries , and only 7 percent for renewable energy and investments in new technologies . 
it is time for a new direction . 
a democratic energy plan would set us on a faster course toward energy independence by investing more of our valuable resources in clean , renewable energy resources , promoting new emerging technologies , developing greater efficiency and improving energy conservation . 
today , we are fortunate to have a number of promising technologies that offer new ways to generate energy and improve energy efficiency . 
but these investments are just a beginning , and will need our commitment in future years to sustain the innovations and investment levels needed to truly establish a sound energy economy for the 21st century . 
the hydrogen economy may be a worthy goal , but its benefits may not be realized until mid-century . 
and while hydrogen may eventually play a major role in replacing gasoline in our cars and trucks , the sources of energy to generate hydrogen must begin accelerated development now . 
the schwartz amendment would not choose any particular type of technology . 
instead , it would distribute resource across multiple technologies and use them to generate multi-year development and deployment projects , support research and development competitive grants , and increase deployment of existing and new energy conservation measures . 
for example , the national academy of sciences examined the possible benefits of an aggressive investment in solid state lighting . 
today , lighting constitutes 30 percent of all energy use in buildings in the united states . 
the academy study found that an investment of $ 50 million a year for 10 years would result in a $ 50 billion savings between now and 2050 . 
that is a return of 100 to one for the u.s. economy . 
another excellent example -- fuel cells -- offer potential benefits in vehicles and stationary applications . 
fuel cells are essential to a hydrogen energy economy and also have a vital role to play in other areas . 
again , the national academy of sciences study found that a sustained investment of roughly $ 500 million over the coming decade is likely to produce benefits as much as $ 40 billion through 2025 . 
the government has an essential role to play in research and development . 
unless a business can make a reasonable return on its research investment , it can not afford to invest in r & amp ; d . 
and unless the business is a monopoly , this requires the r & amp ; d to lead to a patent on a device or a process that can be marketed . 
applied research yields benefits that are too diffuse to be captured by anyone company . 
so the federal government collects funds from a broad base of beneficiaries -- the taxpayers -- and invests in research and development that otherwise would never happen . 
almost all such funding is through appropriation bills -- the energy and water bill being one good example . 
mr. chairman , we are the world leader in technical innovation . 
from the light bulb to the space program to the internet , the u.s. has led the way . 
we have built the world 's largest economy on the inventiveness of our citizens and our willingness to make the investment needed to advance our society . 
the fundamental nature of our free society has always been the key to our achievement . 
science , engineering , and technology have enabled us to build our modern nation , and now we need to use these tools aggressively to increase our energy security , improve the lives of our citizens , and power us in the 21st century . 
i call on members to defeat the previous question so we might consider an alternative rule that would allow congresswoman schwartz to offer her amendment during the debate on funding energy priorities today . 
