BOND: MISSOURI DOESN’T WANT GOOD JOBS KILLED FOR GREEN JOBS

Senator Discusses with Governors How Climate, Cap & Trade Bills Will Kill Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As a former two-term Governor of the State of Missouri, U.S. Senator Kit Bond today discussed how efforts to create green jobs such as cap-and-trade legislation will kill jobs with several U.S. governors testifying before Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW).

“I understand the pressure that elected officials face to create jobs and promote economic development,” said Bond to the governors. “But, taxpayers in Missouri do not want their energy taxes raised or their jobs killed to pay for green jobs.”

Bond stressed to Governors Bill Ritter of Colorado, Chris Gregoire of Washington, Jon Corzine of New Jersey and John Hoeven of North Dakota that even green jobs advocates are learning disturbing lessons from recent green jobs efforts. He pointed to his Yellow Light on Green Jobs report, which is based on information from a coalition of labor and environmental groups.  His report reveals how green jobs efforts will kill existing jobs to pay for new green jobs, pay low wages, and require taxpayer subsidies.  Bond cited another example, High Road or Low Road? Job Quality in the New Economy, a report by the Sierra Club, Teamsters, and SEIU. The report details how some local governments gave subsidies and tax breaks to companies totaling millions of dollars and how many of those projects only produced a few hundred jobs.

            As a major example of this dilemma, Bond discussed the Vestas wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in Pueblo, Colorado.  He explained that in Pueblo, state, county and local officials spent nearly $32 million in incentives and tax breaks to attract a Danish company to build a new wind turbine facility.  Bond emphasized that officials gave away $32 million in economic development funds, incentives, matching grants, investment tax waivers, sales tax waivers, employee tax credits, enterprise zone credits, and health care tax credits to produce only 450 green jobs, which amounts to a $71,000 subsidy per job.

Bond also pointed out that the new Vestas wind turbine plant will operate next to the Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) cement plant, Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, and Excel Energy coal-fired plant.  He noted that this is ironic because the drive for a cap-and-trade bill will kill cement, steel and affordable power jobs next door. Bond explained that high power and cap-and-trade costs will make American cement and steel uncompetitive, forcing them to close.

In closing, Bond emphasized that while green jobs advocates continue to push cap-and-trade, which will kill 2.5 million net jobs, Missouri is leading the U.S. in clean energy.  He noted that Missouri is producing biofuels from corn and soybeans and creating new cellulosic fuels from biomass and algae. He added that Missouri is at the center of new battery technology and producing all-electric and hybrid trucks.  

Bond stressed, “Nuclear power, clean coal technology, environmentally friendly drilling for oil and gas off our own shores, these are the American sources of energy that will create American jobs, keep us independent of our adversaries and ensure plentiful supplies to keep prices lower. This is the path I urge governors, this congress and America to take.”