In an event sponsored by the Business Forward Foundation, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego touted the clean energy benefits of the Biden/Harris American Jobs Plan for the Nation and People.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego[/caption]Stating that President Biden will no longer let the United States stand still while "other countries lept all over us," in clean energy development, Secretary Granholm said that "we should not be satisfied buying solar panels from China and wind turbines from Europe."
Recounting an interaction with a local mayor in China who sarcastically and wishfully encouraged the United States to "take your time" in getting on the clean energy bandwagon, the former Michigan Governor said nations like the People's Republic "see our passivity as their economic opportunity."
Ms. Granholm further said that the Biden/Harris Administration goal of achieving total clean energy utilization by 2035 is "ambitious but achievable."
Touting the American Jobs Plan, Secretary Granholm highlighted the following benefits:
- Cleaner air for the country and planet will lead to better health for the people.
- Lower Energy Bills with low cost or free expanded solar or wind sources.
- Lower transportation costs with more electric vehicles.
- An economic revolution (with private-public partnerships) that will create new clean energy technologies, lift families and revitalize communities, including minority and fossil fuel ones.
- Modernization of the transportation sector, half a million electric vehicle charging stations, and the electric grid powered by clean energy standards.
On the Biden/Harris Proposal, she said:
"President Biden's vision is a bold vision. It calls for a more prosperous and equitable and inclusive future, and that depends on this American Jobs Plan….It is the key to seizing on a transformational moment for our economy.”
Responding to questions on how to pay for the American Jobs Plan, Secretary Granholm reiterated the Administration position that wealthy corporations, either by raising the current corporate rates, adopting a minimum corporate tax rate, or going after tax cheats like the 500 large businesses that paid nothing in taxes last year, should pay their fair share.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, whose City Council just approved a budget that calls for the creation of Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, said that the Biden/Harris Plan can take the country and people "to the next level" economically and stressed that it was "important for the business community to show what the American Jobs Plan offers."
NEW BUDGET FUNDS MAYOR’S PRIORITIES (1)
It is vital that Congress passes as much of the American Jobs Plan as possible, including its clean energy components.
If it means spreading those provisions in a bipartisan bill and a Democratic only one that can pass through reconciliation, so be it.
The country and the people need it.
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