Clean Energy Jobs Are Progress, Not Propaganda

WASHINGTON (September 22, 2011) – House Republicans, led by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), opened hearings today to spotlight the state of clean energy jobs in America.

But claims by Chairman Issa that such jobs are “propaganda” are based on politics, not facts, and threaten a critical and honest debate on clean energy policies that Americans deserve, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Following is a statement by NRDC Legislative Director Scott Slesinger:

“Green jobs are a strong spot in an otherwise weak economy. Green jobs employ 2.7 million Americans, according to the Brookings Institution. Most of those jobs didn't exist a decade ago; now they're a lifeline in hard times for nearly 3 million American families.

“That's not propaganda; it's progress.

“These jobs are real. They provide real paychecks to real Americans - steelworkers, electricians,
machinists, autoworkers, engineers and others. Chairman Issa is attacking a source of strength in our
struggling economy, while millions of Americans are on the job advancing the solutions we need to create
better health, a cleaner environment and a brighter future for us all.”

For more insight into the need for smart clean energy policies, see NRDC Energy Policy Analyst Cai Steger’s blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/csteger/solyndra_shouldnt_overshadow_t.html

For insight into why more, not less government support of clean energy is needed, see NRDC Renewable Energy Policy Director Nathanael Greene’s blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ngreene/lessons_from_solyndra_we_need.html

For details on why clean energy is important to our country, see NRDC Associate Communications Director Bob Deans’ blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bdeans/green_jobs_grow_strong_in_hard.html

And for more background on the politics behind Rep. Issa’s and the GOP’s hearings on clean energy, see NRDC Senior Press Secretary Bob Keefe’s blog here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bkeefe/rep_issa_and_the_unnecessary_p.html