AGAIN, Rep. Pence Falsely Claimed The American Clean Energy And Security Act Would Cause Job Losses

As Media Matters Action Network noted, Rep. Mike Pence made a nearly identical statement earlier today.  Both statements, of course, were wrong.

For The Second Time Today, Rep. Pence Ignores The Facts On The American Clean Energy And Security Act

Rep. Pence: "There's no dispute that this cap-and-trade legislation will cost millions of American jobs." [Pence Floor Statement, 6/26/09]

The American Clean Energy And Security Act Would Create Millions Of American Jobs

Investment In Clean Energy Technology Will Create Over 1.7 Million American Jobs.  According to the Center for American Progress: "Investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for the entire U.S. economy. Our research finds that spending $150 billion on clean-energy investments would create roughly 1.7 million jobs. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean-energy investments." [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]

• Every Single State Will Gain Jobs From An Investment In Clean Energy Technologies. According to the Center for American Progress, investments in clean energy projects would create 1.7 million American jobs in every state in the country. [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]

• Pence's Home State Of Indiana Would Gain More Than 38,000 Jobs From Increased Investment In Clean Energy. According to analysis by the Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute: "Investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for Indiana and the rest of the U.S. economy. Our research finds that Indiana could see a net increase of about $3.1 billion in investment revenue and 38,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in clean energy investments. Adding 38,000 jobs to the Indiana labor market in 2008 would have brought the state's unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent from its actual 2008 level of 5.9 percent." ["Clean-Energy Investments Create Jobs in Indiana," 6/17/09]

Investment in Clean Energy Technology Creates FOUR TIMES As Many Jobs As An Investment In Oil & Gas.  According to the Center for American Progress, "spending $1 million on energy efficiency and renewable energy produces a much larger expansion of employment than spending the same amount on fossil fuels or nuclear energy. Among fossil fuels, job creation in coal is about 32 percent greater than that for oil and natural gas. The employment creation for energy efficiency-retrofitting and mass transit-is 2.5 times to four times larger than that for oil and natural gas. With renewable energy, the job creation ranges between 2.5 times to three times more than that for oil and gas." [Center for American Progress, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy, 6/17/09]

Investment In Renewable Energy Has Already Salvaged Many Manufacturing Facilities Closed During Economic Downturn.  Across America, factories and plants abandoned by the old economy have been re-tooled and re-opened to satisfy the growing demand for new energy technologies. For instance, once hopeless manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Michigan have re-energized their communities by creating jobs and leading the charge toward a new energy future. [Bloomberg, 4/2/09; Star Tribune, 4/22/09; Grand Rapids Press, 3/6/08]

Rebuilding America For The Cost Of A Postage Stamp

In 2020, Cap-And-Trade Will Only Cost An Average Of $175 Annually, "About A Postage Stamp A Day." In its analysis of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Congressional Budget Office wrote: "On that basis, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the net annual economy wide cost of the cap-and-trade program in 2020 would be $22 billion-or about $175 per household." Rep. Edward Markey noted it was "the cost of about a postage stamp a day." [CBO, 6/19/09; House Committee on Energy & Commerce Release, 6/20/09]