Congressional Update - Wednesday, July 1, 2009 7:07 - 0 Comments

Congress leaving the President on energy bill

Last month, newspapers across the country printed an important story from the Associated Press with this headline: “Congress abandoning Obama clean energy goals.” Congress is currently considering an energy bill that has been opposed by the oil industry and some Republicans. The bill does have good parts, but the powerful oil industry, with help from coal interests, has severely weakened it. The following is a recap of where Congress is at present on the energy bill:

• Oil and coal lobbyists have badly weakened the energy bill, even though it still has good parts.

• The current bill wouldn’t require any more clean energy than is already in the works. Wind and solar create more than twice as many jobs as coal and oil, so the current bill won’t create the new jobs needed in this country.

• Even worse, the bill would repeal parts of the Clean Air Act, preventing President Obama from cracking down on dirty power plants.

• For the sake of our economy and our planet, we need our representatives in Congress to fight to fix the energy bill.

Congress will soon be voting on this energy bill. Hopefully, enough Senators and House members will make the bill one that addresses real needs and not one that is pushed through by lobbyists for oil and coal interests.