Bennet to Tax Budget Conferees: Remove Harmful Renewable Energy Provisions, Protect Clean Energy Jobs

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today in a press conference and a joint letter demanded the removal of renewable energy provisions-which would devastate clean energy deployment and job growth-from the final conference report on the Republican tax bill.

Bennet has received hundreds of letters from Coloradans concerned about harmful provisions in the Republican tax bill that would eliminate wind and solar tax credits.

"My office has been contacted by many small business owners who depend on these credits-people like Evelyn, a small business owner in Fort Collins, Colorado whose company employs 30 people," Bennet said in today's press conference. "Her business is dependent on solar and wind energy, and she's worried she would have to reduce her workforce if those credits were rolled back."

Wind and solar energy currently have more than 360,000 workers in their industries across the country, the majority of them middle-class jobs such as roofers, electricians, and steelworkers. These clean energy industries are projected to support 500,000 American workers in just three years.

Bennet emphasized that tax credits for renewable energy have bipartisan support. "That's why it makes absolutely no sense to me why this Congress would end years of agreement and risk undoing these credits," Bennet said. "It would have irreparable effects on the economy in Colorado and make this terrible Republican tax bill even worse."

Bennet, along with U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee leadership, urging the removal of these provisions.

A video of Bennet's remarks at the press conference is available HERE. A copy of the letter is available HERE.