Issue Position: Creating a Clean Energy Economy

Issue Position

The United States has always been at the forefront of global technological advancement and manufacturing capacity. We cannot now sit on the sidelines while other nations pass us by and make enormous strides in the new clean energy frontier which will create millions of new good paying jobs. We either pass policies that encourage the creation of those jobs in the first congressional district and our country, or we buy the clean energy products from China and other foreign competitors and support job creation abroad. It would be a disaster to replace our addiction to mid-eastern oil to an addiction to Chinese lithium batteries.

That is why I have:

* Helped craft and pass a comprehensive energy bill in the House
* Authored bipartisan legislation to create a Clean Energy Bank to provide financing between the "valley of death" and commercialization for clean energy projects
* Leads in advancing National Bioenergy Partnership and biofuels policies that will advance efforts of Washington State University and Washington State companies
* Fought to direct $1.5 billion per year for additional energy research, development, and deployment
* Spearheaded the allocation of $2.4 billion in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds for investments into research and development of electric cars and the next generation of batteries to power them a new battery manufacturing plant run by American Companies employing out of work autoworkers
* Authored and passed into law the Clean Energy Service Corps Act which provides training and education for youth to create local, community based clean energy projects in public spaces, create green housing for elderly and low income Americans, and weatherize and restore historic structures on public lands
* Authored both "feed and tariff" and "net metering" legislation to encourage the adoption and use of clean energy sources

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