Sen. Bernie Sanders won some accolades from Sen. Hillary Clinton on the energy bill that passed Thursday night for his work on "green-collar jobs."
Here's the gist of the bill, which passed easily and now awaits House action, according to the AP:
The car companies will have to achieve an industrywide average 35 mile per
gallon for cars, small trucks and SUVs over the next 13 years, an increase of 10
mpg over what the entire fleet averages today. And it would boost use of
ethanol to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a nearly sixfold increase, and
impose an array of new requirements to promote efficiency in appliances,
lighting and buildings."
Another piece of the bill that didn't make the AP story would create a program to train workers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields. That's where Sanders came in. Says Clinton:
“Today the Senate passed an energy bill that is an important step towards
increasing our energy independence and fighting global warming.
...
"It also includes a provision that I worked on with Senator Sanders to
create a program to train workers to join the growing energy efficiency and
renewable energy fields."
- Terri Hallenbeck
