Senator Sherrod Brown’s IMPACT Act Will Help Develop Long-Term Clean Energy Manufacturing in the United States

Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2009) Senator Sherrod Brown today announced the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act – which will support the development of domestic clean energy manufacturing in the United States. The BlueGreen Alliance today released the following statement from Executive Director David Foster:

“Building a clean energy economy provides an opportunity to revitalize manufacturing in the United States, and this legislation will help us take advantage of that opportunity. The IMPACT Act will ensure the development of long-term manufacturing capacity in the United States – providing investment opportunities for manufacturers to retool and expand their facilities in the production of clean energy technologies.

“The development of the clean energy economy will not only meet the urgent need to address climate change, it will also meet the urgent need to reverse the downturn in domestic manufacturing. This legislation will help us to transform our economy by ensuring that domestic manufacturing plays a vital role in building this clean energy economy right here in the United States.

“Passing comprehensive climate change legislation has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in manufacturing alone. We commend Senator Brown for introducing legislation that is so critical to ensuring that the clean energy economy helps to rebuild America’s middle class.”

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The BlueGreen Alliance is a national partnership of labor unions and environmentalists dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy. Launched by the Sierra Club and United Steelworkers in 2006, the Blue Green Alliance has since expanded to include the Communications Workers of America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Laborers’ International Union of North America and Service Employees International Union – uniting more than six million people in pursuit of good jobs, a clean environment and a green economy.