I'm MN State Rep. Jeremy Kalin. It's been too long since I've posted here. Last year, I was asked by the White House to chair a national coalition of state legislators working on Clean Energy and Climate Change policies around the country. A former state lawmaker, President Obama understands our leadership role. He knows we need a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill from Congress this year.
In January 2010, CLEAN (the Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now) delivered our letter (pdf), signed by 1,210 state legislators from 49 states and both parties, to President Obama and to Congress calling on them to deliver a meaningful energy and climate bill that secures our nation, creates jobs, and shows America's leadership in the world again.
We've held national security forums with generals and admirals, talked to Senators and key staff, offered Op-Eds, and met in the White House to urge action now.
Now we need your help. Stop the Big Oil Bailout.
I don't need to tell you the cost of our addiction to oil. The catastrophe in the sea formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico is testament to the risks when we tie our energy policy so heavily to just one source. We need a comprehensive energy strategy that includes wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, wave energy, biomass and more - as well as places an even higher priority on making our economy the most energy efficient in the world again.
Tomorrow, we take the first major step, in a journey that has already taken far too long.
To get a new American clean energy policy, we need your help today. Please call your Senators today to Stop the Big Oil Bailout and say NO to the Murkowski resolution.
Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to take up Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-AK) will be offering a special resolution, seeking overturn key portions of the Clean Air Act and rejecting the broad consensus of scientists that have concluded that greenhouse gas emissions endager the American public. Here is S.J. Res. 26 in its entirety:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (published at 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (December 15, 2009)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.
Not only would Sen. Murkowski's resolution (under the Congressional Review Act) thumb its nose at science, it would also provide a catastrophic bailout for pullutors, especially polluters like Big Oil. Big Oil stands to gain as much as $140 Billion, through higher gas prices and increased addiction to oil. We cannot let polluters take us down that path again.
Adoption of the Resolution risks throwing out the historic agreement between the EPA, the United Auto Workers and the Auto Manufacturers to set uniform fuel efficiency standards across the industry. This agreement, including EPA rules that would be nullified by the Murkowski resolution, has provided hope to hundreds of thousands of American families that their good jobs will be around for years to come, thanks to American innovation and leadership again. We cannot let the polluters destroy that hope.
Next week, Senator Reid will focus the Democratic Senate Caucus on the path forward toward a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill. We cannot let polluters and Big Oil interests slow down that path toward progress.
As elected officials, CLEAN legislators know what it takes to win elections. We know the hard fought campaigns it takes to win office, and to stay in office. We know that standing up for American security, for American workers, and for American innovation is winning politics. We know that Senators who vote for a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill will increase their standing with their voters, and will increase America's standing in the world.
Please call your Senators today to Stop the Big Oil Bailout and say NO to the Murkowski resolution.
The American Power Act has been introduced after a year of deliberations, with a bipartisan group of Senators. Though it still needs some work, we need to debate a clean energy and climate bill - not another $140 billion for Big Oil that worsens our addiction to fossil fuels.
The American people are hungry for real solutions to our energy crisis, and a path away from drilling for oil in more and more difficult spots.
If we can push back the Murkowski motion, we can move ahead to a brighter day for this nation, and debate a REAL clean energy bill that will strengthen our country, spur millions of new jobs, and place the United States of America again at the head of the pack.
Please stand with the people of the Gulf of Mexico. Please stand with the steelworkers working on wind turbines, the electricians installing solar panels, and the pipefitters and energy auditors saving energy everyday. Please stand with our 1,210 CLEAN state legislators leading the way in our State Capitols, and calling on Congress to do the same.
Please call your Senators today to Stop the Big Oil Bailout and say NO to the Murkowski resolution.
Thank you!