Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to speak on the legislation that is pending, the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act, but also more generally on the issue of the loss of jobs, particularly in the energy sector, as we go forward. When BP Solar closed its Frederick, MD, plant earlier this year, 320 Americans saw their jobs sent overseas to China and India. Bloomberg said the announcement ``signal[ed the] exodus of US renewable-energy jobs,'' which it obviously did. In fact, BP Solar's move followed General Electric's closing of its Newark, DE, solar panel plant, Evergreen Solar's shifting of hundreds of jobs from Danvers, MA, to China, and Gamesa's shutting down of its wind turbine factory in western Pennsylvania. Given the broad enthusiasm for creating clean energy jobs, few seem to notice this alarming trend. But we cannot afford to sit idly by as clean energy jobs steadily and stealthily move overseas. So as we debate this Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act--which the majority leader is trying to bring forward for Senate consideration, and which I support--I rise to call on the Senate, also, in addition, to pass three commonsense, bipartisan measures that will enable the United States to retain existing clean energy jobs and capture millions of new ones that the burgeoning global demand for clean energy will soon create. To begin, let me dispel the myth that the United States cannot lead in producing clean energy technology.…”