Tierney, colleagues push for green jobs

PEABODY – The federal government must bolster workforce training programs to increase the number of people able to fill so-called green jobs related to the environment, says U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney.The Salem Democrat, key member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and co-author of the Green Jobs Act of 2007, this week joined Congressional colleagues from Vermont, California and New York in urging the U.S. Department of Labor to take quick action.The Green Jobs Action was included in the recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.Tierney, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, and U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis of California, sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, asking that the green jobs initiative be quickly implemented.”With passage of the Green Jobs Act, Congress recognized the need to bolster America’s workforce in the green energy industries. Now, the Department of Labor must act with the same urgency and work to implement this important program that will benefit our workforce, bolster the economy and protect the environment,” Tierney said.According to Tierney, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law last Dec. 19.”We’re proud that this law will advance the country’s energy efficiency, conservation, and use of renewable energy, goals that we all agree are tremendously important,” Tierney said.The legislation dovetails with a major national investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, both of which could create more than three million jobs over the next 10 years.However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory asserts that the lack of skilled workers is the largest non-technical barrier to the advancement of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.