Stimulus First Step to Repowering America's Economy

Congressional leaders have passed a final economic recovery package.

"This stimulus package is a good down-payment for putting America on the road to economic recovery,” said Adam Kolton, senior director of congressional and federal affairs, National Wildlife Federation. “It will put millions of Americans back to work installing solar panels and windmills, greening our schools and modernizing our power grid. The National Wildlife Federation thanks Congress and President Obama for acting quickly to address the inter-connected economic, energy, and climate crises we face.

"The next step to build the clean energy economy is to enact comprehensive energy and climate legislation this year. A bill that caps global warming pollution will galvanize investment in the clean energy technology we need to provide long-term economic growth and stability and to protect our children's future from the worst impacts of global warming."

The pace of global warming is likely to be much faster than recent predictions, scientists said recently. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says she intends to schedule a vote on a global warming bill before December 2009, when world leaders will meet in Copenhagen for the U.N. Climate Conference to reach a global agreement on how to deal with climate change.

"We can't fix it all overnight," Pelosi told the San Francisco Chronicle, "but we have to begin."

Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that is likely to lead Congressional action on climate legislation, said last month that he intends to have a climate bill ready by Memorial Day .

Published: February 17, 2009