In response to President Obama's speech tonight, Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Jay Inslee (D-WA- the co-chairs of the Congressional Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC)- released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to President Obama's speech tonight outlining the federal response to the BP oil spill and advocating for legislation to reduce U.S. oil dependence and invest in clean energy, Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Jay Inslee (D-WA)- the co-chairs of the Congressional Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC)- released the following statement:

"We commend the President for his recognition of the Gulf oil spill disaster as a symptom of our fatally flawed domestic energy policy, and we are inspired by his commitment to advancing legislation that will reduce our oil dependence and invest in a new American clean energy future.

"When it looked like we'd lost the space race, President Kennedy summoned America to land a man on the moon within a decade. Now, with oil racing toward our coasts, the President has summoned us to end our addiction to oil. We refuse to take no for an answer. We refuse to be the first generation of Americans in history to accept that it's too hard, too expensive and too complicated. We simply must end this addiction.

"Therefore, we stand with the President in calling for action to take control of our American energy future. We support swift passage of comprehensive energy & climate legislation to end our oil addiction and create millions of jobs and American leadership in the clean energy industries of the twenty-first century."

In late March, the members of SEEC sent a letter to congressional leaders and President Obama calling for final action on comprehensive energy legislation including "reductions in greenhouse gas emissions necessary to spur investment in American clean energy technologies." The letter states that "our country's ability to innovate is unrivaled in the world, and by putting a price on pollution we can unleash the talents of our innovators and entrepreneurs to…chart a course to lead the world in clean energy."

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The Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) is a caucus of fifty-four Democratic members of the House of Representatives that was founded in January, 2009. SEEC is co-chaired by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-WA.) and Steve Israel (D-NY) and supports "policies that promote clean energy technology innovation and domestic manufacturing, develop renewable energy resources, and create green collar jobs throughout the product supply-chain, (and) polices to help arrest global warming and protect our nation's clean air, water and natural environment."