On the recordMarch 16, 2010
Mr. President, I want to speak about a bill that is born from the forward-thinking ideas of our constituents--a bill that will help spur our Nation's new energy economy and create jobs. To that end, tomorrow I will introduce the Solar Uniting Neighborhoods Act, or the SUN Act. Last year, I began traveling across Colorado as part of a workforce tour to listen directly to Coloradans and hear their innovative policy ideas to create jobs. These ongoing efforts not only make me proud to be a Coloradan but they help me identify ways the Federal Government can help--or in some cases get out of the way--in supporting economic development and investing in Colorado. The SUN Act comes from directly visiting with Coloradans. It was one of the several job creation proposals developed after I hosted an energy jobs summit last month in Colorado. Our summit brought together leading clean energy stakeholders from the worlds of business and public interest and government. Many of our top elected officials were there, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Governor Bill Ritter, Senator Michael Bennet, and Congressman Ed Perlmutter. They were there to discuss ways to sensibly spur job growth in our emerging clean energy economy. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing further legislation developed in part from the creative ideas that flowed from the clean energy summit.…





