Reps. Levin, Blumenauer, and Cartwright Lead 177 Members of Congress in Calling for Clean Energy Industry Relief
Washington, D.C. —?Today, Reps. Mike Levin (CA-49), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Matt Cartwright (PA-08) led a group of 177 lawmakers to request economic relief for the clean energy industry, which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
The clean energy industry, which includes renewable energy, clean vehicles, energy efficiency, and energy storage, employed 3.4 million people before the pandemic, two thirds of whom worked at companies with less than 20 employees. A recent economic analysis shows that the industry has already lost over half a million jobs and is on path to continue these job losses through June.
“As the coronavirus pandemic continues to undermine every sector of our economy, we cannot forget about the clean energy workers who are so desperately needed to help combat the climate crisis and protect our planet for future generations,” said Rep. Levin. “With more support and resources for clean energy, we can save thousands of good American jobs, create new ones, and ensure that we don’t go backward in our fight against the climate crisis, but we must act now. I’m proud to lead that effort with my friends Reps. Blumenauer and Cartwright.”
"The clean energy industry has overcome challenges time and time again, and Congress has always stood by to ensure that the United States see the benefits of this crucial sector. Now, at a time of tremendous economic uncertainty, when we are seeing alarming job losses, this industry needs our help,” said Rep. Blumenauer. “I will not stop fighting to ensure that resources like wind and solar receive critical economic relief during this crisis and continue to provide Americans with clean air and workers with good jobs."
“We have to continue to support clean energy jobs during this time of economic uncertainty,” said Rep. Cartwright. “This proposal is a win-win, protecting American jobs and families while working toward a modern and clean energy future. I thank Representatives Blumenauer and Levin for their partnership, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to promote clean energy job growth.”
The letter advocates for specific economic relief measures that will help the clean industry weather the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, it requests for existing energy tax credits to be converted to direct payments, and for Congress to delay the phasedown of these tax incentives to ensure their benefits are seen by the American people.
To read the full text of the letter, click here.
Find the full list of signers is below:
Earl Blumenauer, Matt Cartwright, Mike Levin, Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., Pete Aguilar, Cindy Axne, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Karen Bass, Joyce Beatty, Ami Bera, M.D., Donald S. Beyer Jr., Lisa Blunt Rochester, Suzanne Bonamici, Anthony G. Brown, Julia Brownley, Cheri Bustos, G. K. Butterfield, Salud Carbajal, Tony Cárdenas, André Carson, Ed Case, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Judy Chu, David N. Cicilline, Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr., Katherine M. Clark, Yvette D. Clarke, Wm. Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Steve Cohen, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Gerald E. Connolly, J. Luis Correa, Jim Costa, Joe Courtney, TJ Cox, Angie Craig, Charlie Crist, Jason Crow, Sharice L. Davids, Danny K. Davis, Susan A. Davis, Peter A. DeFazio, Diana DeGette, Rosa L. DeLauro, Suzan K. DelBene, Mark DeSaulnier, Ted Deutch, Debbie Dingell, Mike Doyle, Eliot L. Engel, Veronica Escobar, Anna G. Eshoo, Adriano Espaillat, Dwight Evans, Abby Finkenauer, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Ruben Gallego, Jesús G. "Chuy" García, Jimmy Gomez, Vicente Gonzalez, Josh Gottheimer, Raúl M. Grijalva, Deb Haaland, Josh Harder, Alcee L. Hastings, Jahana Hayes, Denny Heck, Brian Higgins, Jim Himes, Steven Horsford, Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal, Hakeem Jeffries, Marcy Kaptur, William R. Keating, Joseph P. Kennedy, III, Ro Khanna, Daniel T. Kildee, Derek Kilmer, Andy Kim, Ron Kind, Ann Kirkpatrick, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ann McLane Kuster, James R. Langevin, Rick Larsen, John B. Larson, Brenda L. Lawrence, Susie Lee, Barbara Lee, Ted W. Lieu, Daniel W. Lipinski, Dave Loebsack, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Lowenthal, Ben Ray Luján, Stephen F. Lynch, Tom Malinowski, Carolyn B. Maloney, Doris Matsui, Betty McCollum, A. Donald McEachin, James P. McGovern, Jerry McNerney, Gregory W. Meeks, Grace Meng, Joseph D. Morelle, Seth Moulton, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Stephanie Murphy, Jerrold Nadler, Grace F. Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Don Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Frank Pallone Jr., Jimmy Panetta, Chris Pappas, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Ed Perlmutter, Scott Peters, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Katie Porter, Ayanna Pressley, David Price, Mike Quigley, Jamie Raskin, Cedric L. Richmond, Harley Rouda, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Raul Ruiz, M.D., C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby L. Rush, Michael F.Q. San Nicolas, Linda T. Sánchez, John P. Sarbanes, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Adam B. Schiff, Bradley S. Schneider, Kim Schrier, M.D., Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, David Scott, José E. Serrano, Terri A. Sewell, Donna E. Shalala, Brad Sherman, Albio Sires, Elissa Slotkin, Adam Smith, Darren Soto, Abigail D. Spanberger, Jackie Speier, Greg Stanton, Haley M. Stevens, Thomas R. Suozzi, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takano, Bennie G. Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Paul D. Tonko, Norma J. Torres, Lori Trahan, David Trone, Lauren Underwood, Juan Vargas, Nydia M. Velázquez, Maxine Waters, Peter Welch, Jennifer Wexton, Susan Wild, John Yarmuth.
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