More Voices Add to the Chorus: Give Us a Job-Creating Climate Bill

The State of the Union is the main topic of conversation this week, but President Obama wasn’t the only one who had strong words about climate legislation.

First, 17  U.S. Senators sent a letter to President Obama [PDF ]asking him to put “clean energy and climate legislation capable of creating new economic opportunities” at the top of his list of priorities for this year.  The letter says:

Legislation that invests in clean energy and puts a meaningful limit on carbon pollution will be a major job creator.

Obviously, from what we heard Wednesday night, they’ll get no argument from the President on that point.

Second, a group of almost three dozen environmental, labor, faith and civic groups called on Senate leaders to avoid the trap of an “energy-only” bill and instead pass strong legislation that includes a cap on carbon pollution.

In a letter to the Senate leaders [PDF], Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the groups — including EDF — say an energy bill alone would be “just more of the same” at a time when our economy needs a new direction.

The letter points out that the U.S. passed major energy-only bills in 2005 and 2007 that haven’t done much to stimulate the economy, and says:

Energy and climate legislation must be connected and comprehensive to create the opportunity to build a new clean energy economy that secures our energy supplies, fosters innovation, and creates the new jobs we so desperately need here in the U.S.

One more note: in an earlier post we told you about USCAP’s new ad campaign. This week, Peter Molinaro talked to PBS’s Judy Woodruff about those ads, USCAP’s other work, and why big businesses like his Dow Chemical are pushing for climate and clean energy legislation, in partnership with environmental groups. You can watch that interview on PBS’s web site.