Brown Applauds New Recovery Act Jobs Report by the Council of State Governments

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown praised a new report released today by the nonpartisan Council of State Governments showing that Ohio ranked second in the nation in number of advanced energy and environmental jobs created or saved by the Recovery Act. The programs were administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

"These jobs are not only helping to revitalize Ohio's economy, but they also help reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil. Put simply, these investments are putting Ohioans to work while improving our environment." Brown said. "While today's report is good news, it serves to remind us that there is more to be done. Seventy-percent of clean energy components are made outside of the U.S. We need tax and trade policy that levels the playing field for American manufacturers and ensures that Ohio companies not only develop, but also build, the technology of the 21st century."

According to today's report, Ohio recorded more than 3,800 green jobs through investments made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Upon passage of the Recovery Act, Brown's office held a series of workshops throughout the state to help Ohioans pursue funding opportunities. In April 2009, Brown hosted a seminar in Columbus with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Ohio Department of Development, and Battelle Memorial Institute to outline energy opportunities through the Recovery Act. Nearly 200 Ohioans attended the forum.

More than 70 percent of the components of clean energy systems are produced outside the U.S. Brown is fighting to bolster domestic production of clean energy components and to make Ohio the Silicon Valley of clean energy manufacturing. In May 2010, Brown introduced legislation that would expand and improve the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (48C) program. The Security in Energy and Manufacturing (SEAM) Act would extend the program and allow for grants in lieu of tax credits. This would enable the program to reach additional companies that would otherwise be unable to utilize the program - new companies that do not yet have tax liabilities or companies that struggle to find credit in today's tight financial market. The SEAM Act also adjusts the selection criteria to give higher priority to facilities that manufacture--rather than assemble--goods and components in the U.S. Yesterday, Brown announced that he plans to reintroduce the SEAM Act this Congress.

In the 111th Congress, Brown authored the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act, which would create a $30 billion revolving loan program to help auto suppliers and other small and mid-sized manufacturers retool for the clean energy industry. A report released in February 2010 estimated that Brown's IMPACT Act could create more than 52,000 jobs in Ohio.

Brown has been a longtime supporter of wind and solar energy, and boosting the domestic manufacture of wind turbines used in wind farms. Brown supported the bipartisan extension of the critical "1603" clean energy grant program, originally created in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and included in the tax extenders package passed by the Senate in December 2010.

When Brown learned of 1603 work being done abroad --including West Texas Wind Farm -- he introduced the American Renewable Energy Jobs Act to put a halt on 1603 until there was stronger domestic sourcing requirements. That resulted in USW/AWEA partnership and the announcement that Chinese would invest and build US facilities.In June, Brown joined the United Steelworkers and the American Wind Energy Association to announce a new partnership to make the U.S. a leader in wind energy use.

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