REVISED FSC/ETI BILL WILL BOOST CONSUMER CONFIDENCE BY CREATING MORE THAN 650,000 NEW JOBS

April 7, 2004
12:00 AM
Washington, D.C. – The energy tax package will create an additional 650,000 jobs across all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, construction, and technology. The legislation further stimulates the economy by assuring an abundant, reliable and diverse supply of energy. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “Adding the energy tax package to the FSC/ETI bill creates an additional 650,000 new jobs over the coming decade. FSC is a jobs bill. The energy tax package is a jobs bill. The energy tax package boosts our economy by increasing energy production, diversifying energy suppy and creating jobs. “The natural gas pipeline provisions in the tax package help create 38,000 direct jobs and an estimated 400,000 indirect jobs once the pipeline is built. The production tax credits in the bill will increase tenfold the amount of wind energy in our country and dramatically increase the production of solar and geothermal energy. These are the clean, renewable energies we all want. These same tax credits will assist in creating an estimated 130,000 new jobs in the renewable energy industry over the next decade. Those jobs are in the rural heartland of America, where small towns needs those jobs most. “A vote against this bill is a vote against American jobs. If we care about creating new jobs in this country, we must pass this bill.” The energy tax package creates the following jobs: Natural Gas and Coal § More than 400,000 direct and indirect new jobs will be created through the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, while at the same time bringing an affordable energy supply to the Lower 48 states (Source: British Petroleum). · 38,000 direct jobs, 80,000 indirect jobs and an estimated 400,000 jobs from the multiplier effect. Renewables § Incentives for geothermal energy will bring between 350 and 500 Megawatts of clean and renewable geothermal energy online over the next three years. This will create between 750 and 1000 direct jobs and between 7,500 and 10,000 indirect jobs. (Geothermal Energy Association). § Incentives for solar energy will assist in creating 20,000 new jobs in the solar energy industry by 2010. (The Solar Energy Institute Association.) · Biomass provisions will put 1,000 people back to work in at least 20 biomass plants from New York to California that have recently been idled. § Incentives for wind will help create an estimated 5,285 new megawatts of clean and renewable power through 2007. Each new megawatt of wind energy creates between 15-19 direct and indirect jobs, for an estimated 100,000 new jobs through 2007. (American Wind Energy Association, European Wind Energy Association.) ###