United States House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

"[2] The committee held 80 hearings and briefings, on topics ranging from climate science to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill.

[7] Most prominently, the committee played a major role in shaping the 2009 climate bill—the American Clean Energy and Security Act or "Waxman-Markey"—which was passed by the House but never became law due to the Senate's refusal to take up the bill.

[7] After Republicans won control of the House in the 2010 election, the new Republican majority in the House (led by the new speaker, John Boehner of Ohio) decided to kill the committee, resulting in criticism from environmentalists and climate researchers.

Speaker Pelosi indicated she would have liked committees with jurisdiction over energy, environment and technology policy to report legislation on these issues to the full House by July 4, 2007.

On January 14, 2009, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reappointed Ed Markey of Massachusetts and James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin as Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the committee.

Representative Ed Markey , Democrat of Massachusetts, was chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He is pictured here presiding over the committee at a hearing on June 15, 2010.