175+ BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, ACTIVISTS URGE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO JOIN SENATE RENEWABLE ENERGY &

Today, 176 businesses, organizations, and individual activists urged Members of the U.S. Senate who have not yet joined the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE/EE) Caucus to do so. Presidential candidate Senator Clinton already is a member whereas Senators McCain and Obama are not.

175+ BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, ACTIVISTS URGE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO JOIN SENATE RENEWABLE ENERGY & ENERGY EFFICIENCY CAUCUS


PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CLINTON IS ALREADY A MEMBER;
MCCAIN AND OBAMA ARE NOT


For Immediate Release: February 29, 2008

Contact: Ken Bossong (301-588-4741) or (301-270-6477 x.23)


WASHINGTON DC -- In a letter sent today, 176 businesses, organizations, and individual activists called upon Members of the U.S. Senate who have not yet joined the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE/EE) Caucus to do so.

The Senate RE/EE Caucus, which includes 36 Members of the U.S. Senate, was founded more than a decade ago to serve as a bi-partisan, non-legislative source of information on sustainable energy technologies.

The letter's signers, which include 145 businesses and organizations as well as 31 individuals, noted that renewable energy technologies now contribute almost 8 percent of the nation's energy supply while energy efficiency investments made during the past three decades now save more than any single energy source.

"These technologies help to curb reliance on energy imports and lessen energy costs thereby enhancing both national and homeland security," they wrote. "They also improve the reliability of the nation's electrical grid, and - perhaps most importantly - reduce the production of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from traditional energy sources that contribute to global warming and a host of other environmental problems."

The letter added that "the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries include thousands of domestic companies that are providing an ever-growing number of jobs in every state and community in the United States."

Accordingly, the letter's signers are targeting those Members who have not yet joined and urging them to become members of the Senate RE/EE Caucus. Current non-members include a number of prominent leaders from both parties.

Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) already is a member of the Caucus whereas Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are not.

Among Senators playing a key role in setting national energy policy, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) [Chairman of the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources], Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) [Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee], and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) [Majority Whip] are all members.

Key non-members include:

Democrats:

* Harry Reid (NV) - Majority Leader
* Robert Byrd (WV) - President Pro Tempore
* Barbara Boxer (CA) - Chair, Committee on Environment & Public Works

Republicans:

* Mitch McConnell (KY) - Minority Leader
* Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) - Chair, Republican Policy Committee
* Jon Kyl (AZ) - Republican Conference Chair
* John Thune - Minority Whip
* Pete Domenici (NM) - Ranking Member, Committee on Energy & Natural Resources
* James Inhofe (OK) - Ranking Member, Committee on Enviroment & Public Works

A corresponding letter was sent earlier this month to the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have not yet joined the House RE/EE Caucus.

The full text of the letter and list of signers as well as a list of the 36 current members of the Senate RE/EE Caucus are available upon request.

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The Sustainable Energy Network is an informal network created in 1996 now consisting of 500+ organizations and individuals promoting increased use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies as preferred solutions to rising energy imports, greenhouse gas emissions, and nuclear risks.

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