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Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has got it right.
In a letter [1] to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Sen. Schumer said [2] the Obama administration should bar a $1.5 billion wind-farm project in Texas from receiving U.S. government stimulus funds because most of the power turbines would be made in China.
In a draft of the letter, Schumer noted:
The idea that stimulus funds would be used to create jobs overseas is quite troubling. I urge you to reject any request for stimulus money unless the high-value components, including the wind turbines, are manufactured in the United States.
Earlier this week, AAM Executive Director Scott Paul submitted a similar letter to the Obama Administration [3], urging that clean energy projects paid for with stimulus funds be given to U.S. firms. His letter also referenced a Texas wind farm that would be built with Chinese-made turbines. [4]
Bottom line: aggressive steps are needed to ensure that clean energy jobs are created here in the U.S. The latest jobs report [5] notes that the U.S. lost another 61,000 manufacturing jobs last month. It makes no sense for stimulus funds to create jobs overseas at a time of significant recession.
Links:
[1] http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/record.cfm?id=319695
[2] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aY5rXUJG5KwI
[3] http://www.manufacturethis.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/letter-china-wind-turbines-4.pdf
[4] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/business/energy-environment/06wind.html
[5] http://www.manufacturethis.org/?p=5712