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Minority Filibusters Clean Energy--Again Tax Incentives to Spur Growth in Green Jobs, Kickstart Economy Blocked
Washington, D.C.--This evening by a vote of 58 to 41 (including a negative vote by Majority Leader Reid for procedural reasons), the Senate failed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster to advance an economic stimulus package that includes important clean energy incentives--a key addition to the package passed by the House last week. This is the third time in the past seven months that the Republican leadership has blocked a package of clean energy tax incentives. Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director "A strong, bipartisan majority in the Senate showed tonight that it understands that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand. Unfortunately, a determined and short-sighted minority has once again decided to block progress. This minority has decided that partisan politics are more important than enacting the policies that we urgently need--policies supported by the vast majority of the American people. "Failing to quickly renew these clean energy incentives will snuff out one of the few bright spots in our troubled economy. 75,000 hardworking Americans stand to be thrown out of work in the wind industry alone unless Congress acts. Instead of lifting the economy up, some Senators have apparently decided to kick it while it’s down. "The American people are clamoring for renewable energy and the thousands of jobs it has been proven to create and we will continue to work with our leaders in Congress to extend these essential clean energy incentives as soon as possible. Neither our economy nor our environment can afford further delay." ------ For details on how a strong investment in renewable energy can create over 820,000 new jobs at thousands of existing firms across the country, please visit: www.sierraclub.org/bluegreenjobs The clean energy incentives included in the Senate version of the economic stimulus package include: The $5.7 billion package includes quite a few goodies: · 1-year extension of the Production Tax Credit--$3 billion · Solar, fuel cell, and microturbine investment credits--$130 million · Clean Renewable Energy Bonds--$400 million · High-efficiency appliance credits--$323 million · Energy efficiency credits for new homes--$61 million · Energy efficiency credits for home retrofits--$1.5 billion · Energy efficiency credits for commercial buildings--$153 million # # #
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