Rayburn House Office Building Room 2322
Washington, D.C. 20515

At this critical moment in our nation’s history, as Congress considers a second stimulus and President-elect Obama sets forth his economic priorities, there is a need for proposals that address America’s immediate economic distress but also our long-term economic challenges. Infrastructure investments are gaining attention as one way to create jobs and stimulate the economy in the short term while also creating the basis for future prosperity.

However, U.S. infrastructure, already outdated, has come under new pressure from the combined challenges of climate change and rising energy prices. From our transportation network to our homes and office buildings to our electrical grid, America’s physical plant was not built for high cost or volatile energy. As we face up to the competitive demands of the 21st century, it is clear that old, energy-inefficient infrastructure must be repaired, upgraded, or retired and replaced with a new, clean infrastructure (.pdf) to meet the needs of the coming low-carbon economy, the creation of which President-elect Obama has already made a top priority.

NDN believes that innovative clean infrastructure proposals like modernizing and upgrading our electrical grid, investing in next generation broadband technologies, greening the federal government, creating a gigawatt of solar power on government buildings, retrofitting and weatherizing homes and buildings, taking old, gas guzzling cars off the road and replacing them with new fuel efficient vehicles--and creating a new clean infrastructure bank to help fund clean energy projects--have the potential to create jobs in the short term and also address our long term economic challenges.

To advance discussion on clean infrastructure and clean technologies, NDN’s Green Project hosted a Tuesday, November 18, event on Capitol Hill with Congressman Jay Inslee. Congressman Inslee is a leader on energy and electrical grid issues and sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Natural Resources, and on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He is also co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Energy Task Force. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, another leader on transportation and energy issues, also gave some remarks.

NDN is pleased to announce that FERC Commissioner John Wellinghoff also spoke at the event, and was joined by Kurt Yeager, the Executive Director of the Galvin Electricity Institute, and Reid Detchon, Executive Director for the Energy and Climate at the United Nations Foundation.

Bios:

Rep. Jay Inslee - Congressman Inslee has fought to restore protections for roadless areas in national forests and led a successful campaign in the House to keep limits on oil-tanker traffic in Puget Sound. Since 2005, Jay has used his seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee to promote his vision for a clean energy future, the New Apollo Energy Act, and to advance other legislation that would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. In March 2007, he was appointed to the 15-member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. For his full bio, please click here.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer - has devoted his entire career to public service. He first served in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1972. From there Congressman Blumenauer went on to be a Multnomah County Commissioner and spent ten years on the Portland City Council as Commissioner of Public Works. His innovative accomplishments in transportation, planning, environmental programs and public participation have helped Portland earn an international reputation as one of America’s most livable cities – places where people are safe, healthy and economically secure. For his full bio, please click here.

Kurt Yeager - As the leader of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, Kurt E. Yeager brings to the project an unsurpassed understanding of the electric power system and a clear vision for its transformation. Yeager joined the Galvin Electricity Initiative, an effort to perfect the electric power system, shortly after it was launched by former Motorola chief Bob Galvin. As leader of the Galvin Initiative, Yeager is expanding the reach of that vision, working with electricity experts, innovators and entrepreneurs to design and build prototypes of a smart, efficient electric power system that cannot fail the consumer. For his full bio, please click here.

Jon Wellinghoff - Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff is a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency that oversees wholesale electric transactions and interstate electric transmission and gas transportation in the United States. He was sworn in by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2006 and recently re-appointed to a second term. Commissioner Wellinghoff is an energy law specialist with more than 30 years experience in the field. Before joining FERC, he was in private practice and focused exclusively on client matters related to renewable energy, energy efficiency and distributed generation. While in the private sector, Commissioner Wellinghoff represented an array of clients from federal agencies, renewable developers, and large consumers of power to energy efficient product manufacturers and clean energy advocacy organizations. For his full bio, please click here.

Reid Detchon - is the Executive Director for Energy and Climate at the United Nations Foundation. He also serves as Executive Director of the Energy Future Coalition, a broad-based non-partisan public policy initiative focused on three critical energy challenges – oil dependence, climate change, and global energy poverty.

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