Cabinet Members Tout Energy Plans in Print

In regional newspapers around the country, members of President Obama's cabinet have published op-ed columns on the heels of their testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack each wrote in favor of plans for a clean energy economy that they say will create millions of jobs, reduce carbon emissions, and make America energy independent.

 Secretary Chu, writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, said the time for action has come: "We have talked for decades about the energy problem; it is time to solve it. By passing a comprehensive energy bill that spurs a revolution in clean technologies, the United States can position itself to lead this new industrial revolution." Secretary Salazar struck a similar cord, imploring lawmakers to "step up to the plate" in the Denver Post. In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Administrator Jackson discussed the groundswell of public support for legislation and the need for bipartisan cooperation, and Secretary Vilsack, in the Des Moines Register, addressed the great economic opportunities provided for farmers and others by a carbon-capping system.