Creating Clean Energy Jobs to Drive Economic Recovery

Senate Testimony on Job Growth, Tax Incentives, and Small Business

By Bracken Hendricks | October 16, 2009

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SOURCE:Center for American Progress

CAP Action's Bracken Hendricks testifies before a Senate hearing on job growth, tax incentives, and small business. Read the full testimony.

Thank you Senator Specter for inviting me to speak to you here in the capital of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. My name is Bracken Hendricks and I am a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. I address you today, in your capacity as a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee of the U.S. Senate, but also as the senior senator from a commonwealth with a rich history of leadership in meeting our nation’s energy supply needs, driving succeeding waves of growth and innovation by generating affordable and reliable American energy to serve as the life blood of our economy.

It was here in the Quaker state that America first discovered oil; it was Pennsylvania that supplied the abundant coal that drove the explosive growth of the American steel and automotive industries. And, if recent events are any indication, it will be Pennsylvania again that leads the world in providing clean, renewable, and efficient energy and advanced technology to power a dynamic new low-carbon economy. This is one of the great economic opportunities of our generation.

My testimony today focuses on the topic of job creation during this challenging time of economic recovery. I will examine what has worked thus far, and what additional steps we can take to encourage further job growth, focusing particular attention on opportunities and concerns related to the topic of clean energy jobs, or “green collar jobs” as they are sometimes called.

Today we have an unparalleled opportunity to rebuild America’s economy and strengthen the middle class on the foundation of low-carbon energy, to create good jobs even as we respond to pressing energy and environmental challenges. But it will take policy and political leadership if we are going to unleash the creativity and investment of American entrepreneurs in solving these great challenges. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this opportunity in greater detail. I will focus my comments on the potential for climate legislation to drive new investment in productive jobs, and explore how we can build a national strategy to use clean energy as a driver of job creation and economic recovery.

CAP Action's Bracken Hendricks testifies before a Senate hearing on job growth, tax incentives, and small business. Read the full testimony.