U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) today introduced the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act, a bill to extend and expand federal tax incentives to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. The bill notably includes language from U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-OR) and U.S. Rep Brendan Boyle’s (D-PA) Good Jobs for the 21st Century Energy Act to incentivize clean energy projects that meet a set of high-road labor standards. In response, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:

“We welcome the strong labor standards included in the GREEN Act, which will help to ensure that as our nation moves to a cleaner, more sustainable economy we are supporting the creation of high-quality, union jobs.

“However, there is more that can and should be done to improve job quality in the clean energy sector. We urge Congress to ensure that, as this bill moves forward, these incentives are shaped to support sound labor standards, manufacturing jobs, and equitable deployment of clean technology across the country—including when it comes to clean energy and electric vehicle deployment.

“We look forward to working with Congress and the Biden administration to ensure the investments we make build a clean, thriving, and equitable economy.”