WHAT– Stimulus Funds Would Go to China?
Posted by SCapozzola on November 6th, 2009
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has got it right.
In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Sen. Schumer said 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, 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.
Bottom line: aggressive steps are needed to ensure that clean energy jobs are created here in the U.S. The latest jobs report 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.
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