Letter to Byron Dorgan and Pete Domenici, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Re: Invest in Green Collar Jobs Creation

Letter

Letter to Byron Dorgan and Pete Domenici, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Re: Invest in Green Collar Jobs Creation

Clinton Calls for Investments in Green Collar Jobs Creation

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined a group of Senators in calling for investments in a Green Collar Jobs Initiative. In a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Clinton and her colleagues urged the subcommittee to fund four programs of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 designed to incentivize manufacturers to focus on clean energy technologies and in turn create new green collar jobs.

"Green collar jobs will be vital in carrying the United States toward energy independence. Investing in the new clean energy technologies will create the demand for these jobs here at home, providing not only a boost to our economy, but developing what we need to move us toward a clean energy economy," said Senator Clinton.

The aim of the Green Collar Jobs Initiative is to invest domestically in clean energy technologies, thereby creating green collar jobs in the United States. Senator Clinton and her colleagues called for investments for four specific programs that would fund energy efficiency and conservation block grants; create incentives for advanced battery production and storage capability; provide awards for lightweight materials, engineering, components, and production of advanced technology vehicles; and spur advanced biofuels production and infrastructure.

Senator Clinton has pushed to make green collar job investments a national priority. Last week she called on Senate leaders to support green jobs training. Last year, Senator Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) included a measure in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that authorized new programs to train workers in green collar jobs.

Text of the Senators' letter is below.

April 11, 2008

The Honorable Byron Dorgan
Chairman
Subcommittee on Energy and Water
Development
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Pete V. Domenici
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Energy and Water
Development
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Dorgan and Ranking Member Domenici:

We believe the recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 provides Congress with a unique opportunity for a Green Collar Jobs Initiative to fund priority energy programs that can move this country towards energy independence and create new green collar jobs in the U.S. With this in mind, we are writing to request that the subcommittee provide at least the full funding in the Senate-passed Budget Resolution for a Green Collar Jobs Initiative that will fund priority alternative and renewable energy policies from the recently enacted energy bill.

Funding a Green Collar Jobs Initiative will not only move us towards energy independence and a cleaner environment, but it can also bring about another important benefit - new, highly-skilled jobs in our domestic manufacturing industries. Investing in new green job opportunities will result in more energy efficient buildings, solar panels, wind turbines, advanced technology vehicles, advanced electric batteries, and renewable biofuels and energy.

The United States has the opportunity to improve our economy and global competitiveness by creating green jobs at home, in a growing sector that produces clean and efficient homes, appliances, vehicles, fuels, and energy. Investing domestically now will ensure that we produce these technologies here in the U.S. rather than import renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, and advanced biofuels. Moreover, with the right incentives, we will have American workers and manufacturers building the next generation of these technologies as well as automobiles and advanced technology batteries. Overall, with all these new green industries, green job training can help many unemployed and underemployed workers find new and better-paying jobs.

We believe that providing at least the full funding identified for these programs in the Senate-passed Budget Resolution will make a Green Collar Jobs Initiative a reality for 2009. Specifically, we request that maximum funding be provided for these programs of the 2007 energy bill:

* Section 542 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.
* Sections 131, 132, 135 & 641 which include incentives for Advanced Battery Production and Storage Capability (vehicles, solar, wave and wind).
* Sections 136 and 651 that would provide awards and loans for lightweight materials, engineering, components, and production of Advanced Technology Vehicles in the U.S.
* Sections 207 and 244 to spur Advanced Biofuels Production and Infrastructure.

We sincerely appreciate your consideration of this request. We look forward to working with you to provide a real commitment to energy independence and a clean environment and to spur the green jobs that will benefit our great nation.

Sincerely,

Source