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On Taxes – In Their Own Words
Seventh Democratic Debate
August 7, 2007
The AFL-CIO Working Families Vote Presidential Forum
MSNBC

ROBERT FLYNN (Insulator): Yes. I’m a union insulator. We work building buildings, making them energy efficient. (Cheers.) Unfortunately, many companies don’t invest in energy-efficient products, even though in the long run they’ll save money. If you’re president, what policies would you implement to make businesses invest in energy-efficient technologies to stop our reliances on foreign oil and help our environment?

MR. OLBERMANN: Senator Dodd?

SEN. DODD: Okay, great question. (Applause.) Let me say one quick thing on this health care issue. Every member of Congress up here has a pretty good health care plan; I want Americans to have as good a health care plan as members of Congress have. (Crowd reacts.) Regarding this issue here -- look, on energy issues here, I believe very strongly that we all share the same goals up here, that I stand for having an 80 percent reduction in CO2 by the year 2080; we do so by setting a mile per gallon standard of 50 miles per gallon by the year 2017. There were automobiles produced back in 1983 that got 43 miles per gallon; we can do a lot better. I would tax those who pollute. I would use the money from that to invest in the alternative technologies of wind and solar and ethanol and other biofuels that would make it possible for us to become independent. There’s no other gift that you and I could give to our children and our grandchildren that could be more important that having an independent energy policy utilizing the technologies and ideas that exist in this country. It ought to be a priority for us to do so, to improve our health, to create jobs and to lessen the kind of national security problems we face all over the world because of oil interests. I stand for it and as president.