Ed Markey

Representative, D - Massachusetts

Representative Edward J. Markey, a national leader on energy and the environment, is the Ranking Member of theNatural Resources Committee. He has served on the Committee since his election to the House of Representatives in 1976. In addition to being a steward of our public lands, national parks, and oceans, Rep. Markey has fought to create new jobs in American clean energy. He also consistently served as consumer champion against rising gas prices and foreign oil.

Rep. Markey has been a leading voice in the ongoing Congressional investigation into the BP oil spill. He insisted that the company reveal the true size of the spill's flow rate, raised concerns about the use of toxic chemical dispersants and forced BP to make live video footage of the oil spill available to the public on the Spillcam website he created.

From 2007 to 2010, at the direction of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Markey served as Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The Select Committee has held 80 hearings and briefings and contributed to the advancement of smarter energy and climate policies, including the first increase in fuel economy standards in three decades, which Rep. Markey authored.

During the 111th Congress, Rep. Markey also chaired the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Perhaps the most powerful Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, it had unprecedented jurisdiction over national energy and environmental policy. As Chairman, Markey co-authored the landmark Waxman-Markey "American Clean Energy and Security Act," which was approved by the House of Representatives in June 2009.

Reflecting his commitment to maintaining the quality of life and economic opportunity in New England and across America. Gene Karpinski, the President of the League of Conservation Voters of the United States, has said “there is no greater environmental champion in Congress than Ed Markey as we fight to head off the looming catastrophe of climate change,” and Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists has said that Rep. Markey “is part of an exciting, game-changing leadership in the Congress on climate and energy.” President Obama has also noted that "the House of Representatives has already passed historic legislation" on energy and environmental issues "due in large part to the efforts of Massachusetts' own Ed Markey" noting in a speech in Boston that Markey “deserves a big round of applause” for his leadership in drafting the Waxman-Markey bill.

In addition to his work on energy and environmental issues, Rep. Markey is a national leader on technology policy and consumer protection. He served for 20 years as Chair or Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, where he was the principal author of many of the laws now governing our nation’s telephone, broadcasting, cable television, wireless, and broadband communications systems. He is the author of H.R. 3458, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, a bill that would ensure that as the Internet continues to evolve, it remains a level playing field guided by the principles of openness and competition.