Dear Mr. Shaw:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for a “clean energy economy.” I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to respond to your concerns.
President Obama’s budget proposal spends significant funds to prioritize renewable energy technologies like wind and solar energy. While these investments are certainly laudable, this budget plan misses the opportunity to expand emission-free nuclear energy production. According to the non-partisan Electric Power Research Institute, nuclear power currently supplies approximately 73 percent of our nation’s greenhouse gas-free electricity generation. We are faced with the dual goals of meeting our energy demands and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In pursuit of these goals, I have supported nuclear energy expansion along with increased use of renewable fuels including not only wind and solar but also biomass and municipal waste. Each of these solutions would provide increased amounts of clean energy, moving our nation toward energy independence in an environmentally-responsible manner.
We must also ensure that any solution is affordable for individual consumers and industries that depend on energy to keep our economy growing. Thus, any proposal must be considered in the context of its economic impact on our nation and those in our society who are most vulnerable to rising energy prices. Reliable, clean, and abundant energy will be crucial to our nation’s economic recovery and its future economic success.
I am committed to working with my colleagues in the Senate to address the energy needs of our nation. As always, I appreciate hearing from you. Please contact me with any additional comments or questions. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
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