SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The Democrats will take Congress in November, and will pass a radical alternative energy bill by mid-December, Rep. Dennis Cardoza said Tuesday.
Cardoza, D-Calif., promised a bill that would "change the face of the U.S." at a panel discussion during the Solar Power 2006 national conference going on this week.
He introduced the Empowering America Act of 2006 and installed an $80,000 solar photovoltaic energy system in his own home this year, he said.
Installing the system was "the most patriotic thing I've ever done," he said, saying the United States should become energy-independent of the Middle East and that going solar is "the right thing to do for our children."
Cardoza said other lawmakers are starting to feel the same way: "The winds of change are coming down upon Washington."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, also from California, would become speaker of the House if the Democrats win control of Congress on Nov. 7, and she has named alternative energy in general and solar energy in particular as top priorities, Cardoza said.
"I'm told (former Speaker of the House) Newt Gingrich said -- I didn't hear the quote, but heard it third-hand -- that the next president, whether he be Republican or Democrat, will take the country into energy independence, and I believe him," Cardoza said.
