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Please do not reply to this email. To contact me, please click here and let me know your thoughts on how I can better represent your beliefs and values in our nation's Capitol. March 8, 2011 Protect NREL and Colorado Jobs As budget battles continue in Congress, I will continue to fight to stop the dangerous pattern of importing oil and exporting jobs. The recent proposal by House Republicans to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year is unacceptable. It would drastically cut key programs in the Department of Energy that could directly impact hundreds of jobs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden. Also, thousands of private sector clean tech related jobs in Colorado could be impacted by these reckless budget cuts. The proposed House Republican spending plan would: Cut investments in energy efficiency, clean energy (like wind and solar), and advanced vehicle technologies by $899 million. Cut more than $2.5 billion from loan guarantees that provide a financial foundation for clean energy projects, such as wind farms and solar installations, which are already in the works including loans for Abengoa Solar (Lakewood) and Abound Solar (Longmont). Cuts in this program could impact 3,600 jobs. Slashes nearly $1.4 billion from clean energy cutting edge research to pioneer the breakthroughs that will fuel tomorrow – the Office of Science and ARPA-E at the Department of Energy. We are already feeling the pain at the gas pump due to an increase in global energy demand as we climb out of the recession and also due to the political instability in Africa and the Middle East. Now more than ever we need to invest in 21st Century technologies to wean ourselves from foreign oil controlled by dictators and create good paying jobs here in Colorado and the United States. Last month, the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business came out with an important study highlighting NREL’s impact on Colorado’s economy. It estimated NREL provides a $714 million annually to Colorado’s economy. For every one job at NREL, five more in the private sector are added. Because of increased investments by the federal government, over the past three years NREL added more than 1,400 jobs and helped create a total 5,500 clean tech private sector jobs statewide. It's important to maintain our investment in energy technologies to create jobs and promote energy independence. Click here to view more information about the study highlighting NREL’s economic impact on Colorado. Congressman Ed Perlmutter Unsubscribe

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