After nine years of war in Iraq, every American should be happy to hear that our Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and women are coming home to their families and that Iraq is on its way to independence.

Personally, I am incredibly thankful that President Obama has stayed true to his promise to get our troops out of Iraq.

The president has shown that he is committed to securing Iraq’s freedom and independence, and the Iraqis have shown that they are willing and able now to lead this fight on their own. The president’s foreign policy has built up America again as a powerful force in spreading democracy, whether it is securing Iraq, transitioning in Afghanistan or helping liberate Libya.

I had the opportunity to experience what happened in Iraq with the Marines in Fallujah. I am thankful that we have done what we came to do, and am grateful to bring our troops home. The day I came home was one of the happiest, not only of my life, but of my friends’ and family’s as well.

The men and women of our military have, with skill and bravery, brought Iraq back from the brink. Today, they can all be proud of what they’ve accomplished and overjoyed to be coming home.

Thousands of brave men and women (4,500) have lost their lives in service to their country over the last nine years in Iraq. This is an end worthy of their sacrifice.

But the transition is not easy, and President Obama has worked to ensure the move home is the best it can be for our veterans. As part of the American Jobs Act, job-makers could earn $5,600 or $9,600 in tax credits by hiring veterans who have been unemployed for more than six months. And since President Obama signed it into law in 2009, the Post-9/11 GI Bill has helped 600,000 veterans go to school. President Obama has shown time and again his gratitude for our veterans, and his commitment to their prosperity after they come home.

So thank you, President Obama, for living up to your promises of finishing the Iraq war, defeating Osama bin Laden, and continuing to draw our troops out of Afghanistan. The United States of America has re-established both its strength and its international reputation. And to our troops returning home, to their families, and to a safe and secure America, happy holidays.

Alex Cornell du Houx is an Iraq War veteran and a state representative from Brunswick.

America’s greatness does not come solely from its military might, but also from its unique role as a force to provide stability and opportunity in the world.

While this ability stems in part from our military, it emanates also from the values we hold that help make other nations “great.” WWII was won largely because America won the battle for the hearts and minds of the international community. The Greatest Generation helped rebuild the countries that were ravaged by the war in order to facilitate the growth of healthy, free societies.

Today, the same kind of international development is needed if we are to succeed in fighting terrorism. I saw this firsthand when I deployed to Iraq with the Marines. Our military superiority could not win the battle alone. Instead the combination of a strong military with a robust development program helped pave the way to much more stable country.

This fight does not just need the use of force, it needs the construction of good schools, effective police, and safe communities. Yet there are those in Congress who want to cut funding for international aid. Even though General Petraeus and Secretary Gates agree this development is needed, Conservatives in Congress are unwilling to make the investment in America’s, and indeed the world’s, security.

Our military is eradicating terrorism. International development will make sure it doesn’t come back. Congress wants to cut funding for many government programs, but international aid should not and can not be on the chopping block. America can be great again, as long as we remember and act on the values that made us great before.

To see more, check out the Make US Strong Campaign’s new ad, GI JOE.

Winter feels closer than it should. And as temperatures drop, heating bills are beginning their steady climb. Maine has some of the oldest buildings in the country, which means a lot of the heat that we are paying for is going straight out the walls.

Every year, Mainers send $5 billion out of the state to pay for our oil consumption. It is a drain on the whole Maine economy.

Home weatherization is one of the easiest fixes for this problem. It has relatively low upfront costs, and it begins paying for itself often within only two or three winters.

Still, many families simply can’t afford the upfront investment.

Luckily, Efficiency Maine has helped Maine families with loans and rebates for home weatherization. In doing so, it has produced about $400 million in economic benefits for Maine, and has saved enough electricity to power Maine homes for an entire year.

And yet, under the LePage administration’s leadership, the Legislature struck down crucial funding for Efficiency Maine. Their rationale: it would have raised electricity bills during a tough economic time.

That is true. It would have raised them by $1.13 per month. But this small increase is far outweighed by the resulting benefits. It isn’t just the people who get rebates and loans from Efficiency Maine who benefit, but all Mainers. The money that one homeowner saves gets spent somewhere else within the Maine economy.

I’m proud to say my own representative, Alex Cornell du Houx of Brunswick, is working to help Maine reduce its dependence on foreign oil. He and legislators like him are working hard for our economy, our environment and our security. We should follow their lead.

Or we could keep literally throwing money out our windows.

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/letters/ferry-not-fireboat-can-serve-workers_2011-11-14.html

Our veterans should never come home to an uncertain future or struggle to make ends meet—especially after dedicating themselves to making America stronger.

As commander-in-chief, President Obama is honoring our veterans by putting forward two pieces of the American Jobs Act that would provide tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed and disabled veterans and expand job training for those newly back from war. His plan is fully paid for in a way that both parties support.

Yesterday the Senate unanimously passed this legislation in a 95–0 vote. The House will be voting next week.

In addition President Obama is immediately taking action by implementing three programs that will help veterans transition into the civilian world and find employment:

Veteran Gold Card: Post-9/11 veterans are now able to download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced services, including six months of personalized case management, assessments, and counseling at the roughly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country. This could help serve the more than 200,000 unemployed post-9/11 veterans.

My Next Move for Veterans: The Department of Labor will launch My Next Move for Veterans, a new online resource that allows veterans to enter their military occupation code and discover civilian occupations for which they are well qualified. The site will also include information about salaries, apprenticeships, and other related education and training programs.

Creating a Veterans Job Bank: The administration will launch the Veterans Jobs Bank at National Resource Directory, an easy-to-use tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them. It already searches more than 500,000 job postings and is growing. In a few easy steps, companies can make sure the job postings on their own websites are part of this Veterans Jobs Bank.

Maine Representative Alex Cornell du Houx ’08 traveled to the White House  for a private reception with President Obama and administration officials to discuss Maine’s PACE program, which gives residents low-interest loans for home weatherization and is being used as a national model for clean energy initiatives.

A George Mitchell Scholar and former Marine, Cornell du Houx serves on the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and is chair of the Veterans Caucus.

http://www.bowdoindailysun.com/2011/10/alex-cornell-du-houx-08-meets-with-president-obama/#comments

An environmental advocacy group has released what it calls a ‘first-of-its-kind’ analysis outlining how Maine–and the U.S.–can significantly reduce the use of oil over the next 20 years. Environment Maine unveiled the report called “Getting Off Oil” as part of a nationwide initiative. According to the study, the U.S. has the potential to cut its oil use by 31 percent below 2008 levels by 2030, a reduction of 1.9 billion barrels a year. And for Maine, the percentage could be even greater.”

Getting Oil Shows that a comprehensive strategy to transition Maine off of oil can reduce Maine’s oil use by nearly 40 percent in the next 20 years,” said Environment Maine Field Associate Andrew Francis today at a Portland news conference.

That’s well above the 30 percent target set by state law earlier this year. The question is: How can Maine achieve the goal? “This report evaluates 17 public policies or measures with the potential to significantly reduce oil consumption in Maine and across the country,” Francis said.

These policies include accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles. There are also calls for a “pay-as-you-drive” system of vehicle insurance, designed to encourage motorists to spend less time behind the wheel.

Fuel economy standards are another crucial part of the plan, says auto dealer Adam Lee, who is Maine’s leading seller of hybrid vehicles. One of the speakers at the news conference, Lee says the state is headed in the right direction.

“Our country’s gotten around to raising fuel eonomy standards again. We went from about 27 miles per gallon to 35, just a couple of years ago. And we now, in the next few years, hopefully, will have a standard of 54 miles per gallon in the next 13 years. We need this standard,” Lee said.

But it’s not all about cars and transportation. The report also calls for policies to curb oil use in Maine’s homes and businesses.

Ashley Richards says weatherization is key. “Weatherizing your home is low-hanging fruit, relative to saving money on fuel consumption.” Richards is the owner of Warm Tech Solutions, which provides energy efficiency services to homes and businesses in southern Maine. “Maine has the oldest housing stock in the country. We have over 450,000 homes that are poorly insulated, and 70 percent of our centrally-heated homes are heated with No. 2 fuel oil,” he says.

Last year, he says 2,500 homes were weatherized with the help of a state rebate known as the Home Energy Savings Program. He says each home saved about $1,400 a year. This rebate program however has now run out of money, and Richards says this is a problem.

“What I mean is we need to fund the Home Energy Savings Program for at least another three years. I believe that when 1 percent of the folks in Maine are pocketing $1,400 a year for weatherizing their home, then weatherizing will become the cool thing to do, just like tattoos are today,” Richards said.

Underpinning these efforts to reduce dependence on oil is the issue of security. That was the point stressed by Democratic state legislator and Iraq war veteran Alex Cornell Du Houx, of Brunswick. “We send $5 billion every single year out of the state of Maine to nations who do not have our interests in mind,” he said. “And by reducing that, we can improve our economic security and our national security and take control of our energy future.”

According to Jamie Py of the Maine Energy Marketers Association, Maine is already well on the way to meeting its oil reduction targets in some areas. He says between 2004 and 2009, annual home heating oil use fell by nearly 200 million gallons as people upgraded to more efficient boilers and furnaces. “And all that’s being driven by the marketplace, so whether or not we need mandates in that area I’m not sure,” Py says.

Py also has words of caution regarding the call for increased deployment of electric cars. “We all have to remember, however, where does the electricity come from? And at the moment, half of the electricity in the United States is generated by coal,” he says.

As electric vehicle usage increases, more electricity will have to be generated to supply them with power. And Py says it’s important to discuss where that power will come from before any mandates are placed on what we should or shouldn’t be driving.

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/18476/Default.aspx

PORTLAND, Maine — Environment Maine unveiled a plan Thursday to reduce Maine’s dependence on oil by nearly 40 percent by 2030, beating established legislative energy benchmarks without expanding use of natural gas, which is a central component of Gov. Paul LePage’s energy strategy.

Environment Maine field associate Andrew Francis was joined Thursday by state Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx, D-Brunswick, Lee Auto Malls board chairman Adam Lee, Warm Tech Solutions owner Ashley Richards and property owner Ashley Salisbury. The press conference took place at Salisbury’s multi-unit 26 Brackett St. building, which was the subject of a recent energy efficiency retrofit largely performed by Warm Tech.

The group assembled to highlight state and federal measures promoted in the larger Environment America report “Getting Off Oil: A 50-State Roadmap for Curbing Our Dependence on Petroleum.”

At a state level, Cornell du Houx said it’s crucial the state Legislature continue funding Efficiency Maine programs that encourage home weatherizations, while Lee trumpeted federal proposals to force auto manufacturers to meet minimum fuel efficiency standards of 54 miles per gallon over the next 13 years.

“Mainers … send $5 billion every single year to nations that do not have our best interests in mind,” Cornell du Houx, who has served with the Marine Corps in the Middle East, said of Maine’s dependence on oil. Maine is ranked the fourth most oil-dependent state in the country.

Lee noted that in 1975, Congress gave car makers 10 years to double the fuel efficiency of their vehicles, and although manufacturers complained, they met the standards and reduced pollution.

“The history of my industry is that they don’t do anything to improve safety or efficiency unless they’re mandated to do so,” Lee told members of the assembled media Thursday morning.

Richards said 2,500 Maine homes were weatherized in 2010 using rebates and other funding programs offered by Efficiency Maine. Each home saved an average of $1,400 on annual heating costs because of the work, which ranges in scope from sealing windows to better insulating walls to finding more efficient heating systems.

Richards said that if the state keeps offering funding programs at that pace, 12,500 homes will be made more efficient in five years, saving a total of 15 million gallons of fuel oil and “putting $67 million back in the hands of consumers.”

He said each weatherization project costs a homeowner an average of $6,000, with about $2,500 of that reimbursed by Efficiency Maine. With about $1,400 in savings per year, each project is making money for its homeowner within three years, he said.

But Richards said his company shrank from 20 employees to 12 when the Efficiency Maine funding dried up, suggesting increased funding for the program would restore jobs as well as save money for property owners.

“Last winter, every month when I saw the fuel truck pull in, it was cause for anxiety,” Salisbury said of the 26 Brackett St. property she owns. “Opening that bill felt a little like getting kicked in the head. Ultimately, I had to consider whether I wanted to keep wasting not only my money, but this precious resource as well.”

Not included in the strategy unveiled Thursday was an expansion of natural gas in the state, which LePage said last month he plans to promote during the upcoming legislative session.

The state Legislature has approved goals to reduce Maine’s dependence on oil by 30 percent by 2030, and by 50 percent by 2050. By implementing the state and federal policies detailed in the Environment Maine report promoted Thursday, organization leaders said, Maine could reduce its oil use by 29 percent by 2025 and by 39 percent by 2030.

Most of the steps called for by Environment Maine at the state level involve providing financial incentives for energy efficiencies in homes and transportation systems, as well as shoring up building codes to further promote such efficiencies.

“Natural gas is not a part of this road map,” Emily Figdor, director of Environment Maine, told the Bangor Daily News Thursday. “We’re saying we can do that without turning to other fuel sources that have their own host of environmental problems. We think Maine should be very cautious before we ramp up use of natural gas.”

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/10/13/energy/group-unveils-plan-to-reduce-maine-oil-use-urges-caution-on-lepage%e2%80%99s-natural-gas-goals/

Top scores were awarded to Rep. Alex Cornell Du Houx, D-Brunswick, Rep. Peter Kent, D-Woolwich, Rep. Mike Clarke, D-Bath, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, and Rep. Charlie Priest, D-Brunswick, and Rep. BruceMacDonald, D-Boothbay, and Rep. David Webster, D-Freeport.

“We voted for protections for children and to maintain the naturalresources our economy depends on,” said Cornell Du Houx. “We were able to moderate some of the most dangerous and extreme rollbacks of the environmental protections proposed by Republicans and Governor LePage.”

Legislators were graded on their votes regarding energy efficiency, clean water, children’s health, wildlife and the North Woods. The Maine Conservation Voters 2011 scorecard measured votes on some of the most significant environmental issues passed this year:

*        Children’s Health: LD 412  voting to ban the toxic chemicalbisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers, like baby bottles and sippy cups;
*        Children’s Health: LD 228 voting against the repeal of Maine’s pesticide spraying notification law;
*        Energy Efficiency: LD 1416 voting against weakening the statewide uniform building and energy efficiency code;
*        North Woods: LD 1534 voting against establishing a biased study committee to eliminate the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC), the state agency charged with conserving Maine’s vast North Woods.

In past years, MCV scorecards have been used to showcase votes that furthered protections for Maine’s environment, which is central to the state’s economic brand. This year, the scorecard evaluated votes against an anti-environment agenda advanced by certain Republican lawmakers and Governor Paul LePage.

View the full scorecard on the web site for Maine Conservation Voters. <http://www.mlcv.org/>