This was a vote on an amendment offered by Rep. Forbes (R-VA) to H.R. 2454, a major energy bill titled the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. The amendment was intended to substitute for all the provisions of H.R. 2454. The purpose of the amendment, according to Rep. Forbes, was to “bring together a commission . . . from government, from the private sector, from academics, and have them create in the next year a plan of energy for this country that would get us 50 percent independent from foreign oil in 10 years and 100 percent in 20 years or tell us why we can't get there.” The amendment also set seven goals for energy independence, including doubling vehicle fuel efficiency, cutting home and business energy usage in half, having solar power work as cheaply as coal, making biofuels work as cheaply as gasoline, safely and cheaply storing carbon emissions from coal-fired plants, safely storing nuclear waste and producing electricity from nuclear fusion reactions. It created grants and prizes as incentives to meet certain of the goals.

Rep. Forbes argued that H.R. 2454, as it was currently being considered, was “essentially redistributing another $800 billion of taxpayer money because we think we know what's best for Americans.” Rep. Schock (R-IL), speaking in support of the amendment, said that we can achieve our energy goals “without putting the conventional methods of energy out of business.  The Forbes amendment will do just that.”

Rep. Waxman (D-CA) was a sponsor of H.R. 2454, which included the establishment of a new cap and trade program mandating reduced emission levels, and permitting higher emitting companies to purchase pollution credits from lower emitters. He responded to Forbes by arguing that “good ideas come with market incentives and competition and rewarding people for good ideas with something more than a good ribbon to pin on their chest. This amendment strikes the whole bill and substitutes this idea of giving prizes. . . (but) the American Clean Energy and Security Act, is a comprehensive energy policy. . . This substitute amounts to a grant program and a competition with prizes for good ideas. There is no comparison between the two. The bill before us is a real solution to our very real energy challenges. The Republican amendment simply fails to rise to the challenge.” Rep. Markey (D-MA), who also sponsored H.R. 2454, said the Forbes Amendment contained “the same discredited policies from the past that have gotten us into this economic national security and environmental situation that we live with today.”

The vote on the amendment was 172-256. One hundred and sixty-five Republicans and seven Democrats voted “aye”. Two hundred and forty-five Democrats and eleven Republicans voted “nay”. As a result, the amendment was defeated and the provisions of H.R. 2454, including the new cap and trade plan, remained intact.