Senator Collins Calls for Increasing Support for Clean Energy Sector in Next COVID-19 Package

Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined a group of six of her colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), urging the consideration of policies that will bolster jobs and innovation across the clean energy economy in the next COVID-19 relief package, including for renewables, nuclear, carbon capture, energy efficiency, advanced transportation, and energy storage. The letter was also signed by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Richard Burr (R-NC).

“Clean energy companies and workers play an integral role in U.S. energy independence and diversification,” wrote the Senators. “Unfortunately, the clean energy sector has seen massive job losses – an estimated 500,000 jobs lost since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.”

The Senators continued, “As we focus on getting the country back to work, we must include an industry that had already been putting Americans to work faster, and in more places, than the overall economy before the COVID pandemic hit. Clean energy job growth had outpaced the economy by 70 percent over the past five years. Further, this growth is truly nationwide, encompassing every state."

Click HERE to read the full letter.