Supporters of a 10-year, $300 billion government investment in cleaner energy and green buildings on Wednesday unveiled a study claiming that their program would create 3.3 million jobs and more than pay for itself.
Commissioned by the Apollo Alliance, a group urging that energy get the same priority given to the Apollo space program 40 years ago, the economic analysis predicted that the investment would also:
- Stimulate $1.4 trillion in new Gross Domestic Product.
- Repay the $300 billion cost through increased federal tax revenue from increased earnings.
- Produce $284 billion in net energy cost savings.
Alliance backers include many environmental and labor groups as well as Democratic Party lawmakers and political figures.
Democratic presidential frontrunner Howard Dean was one of the first to welcome the study -- and to use it to attack President Bush.
"This administration's fealty to its corporate benefactors in the oil industry has caused our nation to fall behind in what will be one of the most important new industries of the twenty first century," Dean said in a statement.
"Developing a clean energy economy is vital for three reasons," he added. "It will enhance our security, it will reduce global warming, and it will create millions of jobs."
The United States has not had a major energy legislation in a decade. A bill backed by the president and most Republicans has been held up in Congress.
The report for the Apollo Alliance and additional background are online at www.apolloalliance.org