"We the People" Partnership for #CleanEnergyJobs
Project Overview
In 2011, Applied Solutions and its partners spearheaded an effort to petition the White House to clarify language on Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds to free up funds that could be used for clean energy projects. Below are the details about that effort.
Summary
The purpose of this effort is to accelerate the use of $2.7 billion in Recovery Act funding that is still available to finance clean energy and create jobs. This funding was allocated by formula to state and local governments in the form of Qualified Energy Conservations Bonds (QECBs). Most state and local governments haven’t used their QECB allocation in part because the authorizing legislation is too vague. The vagueness in the law prevents bond counsels from signing off on clean energy projects that would otherwise move forward.
In December 2011, more than a dozen non-profit and business organizations will partner with local governments from across the country to petition the White House using its We the People platform. We invite you to join us. Together we will seek necessary clarification on Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds so they can be used immediately to put Americans back to work.
About We the People
In late August 2011, the White House unveiled We the People, a new tool that enables ordinary Americans to petition the White House to make policy changes. A given petition must receive 25,000 signatures in 30 days in order to compel the White House to respond. To date, the vast majority of petitions submitted through We the People involve fringe issues the White House is unlikely to address. Our petition, however, is a simple, uncontroversial request for clarification so that local governments and their partners can create jobs. If we reach the 25,000 signature threshold, our petition will present to the White House a rare triple win opportunity: QECB clarification will 1) please clean energy advocates, elected officials and the business community 2) help state and local governments finance clean energy projects that otherwise wouldn’t happen— including school modernization projects, as described in the President’s Jobs speech, and 3) potentially create thousands of clean energy jobs in the next year.
How you can help
1. Once the petition is live on December 1st, send an email to your full membership list and all your friends
- Ask recipients to sing the petition and share the link on Facebook and Twitter
2. Participate in daylong Social Media drives on Facebook & Twitter
3. Place the #CleanEnergyJobs button on your website to drive traffic to the petition
4. Join us on your favorite social media sites (see below)
Draft Petition
This petition was drafted with technical support provided by: Jim Barrett – Clean Economy Development Center, Elizabeth Bellis – Energy Programs Consortium, Marc Zimring – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as bond counsel and local officials from across the country.
Mr. President:
Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) have enormous potential to create jobs. They can be used to finance clean energy projects that save energy and put Americans back to work.
So far, however, only a handful of state and local governments have deployed QECBs, even though qualifying projects can be financed at net interest rates below 1.5%. QECBs remain vastly under-utilized in part because the authorizing federal legislation is too vague. In particular, the law includes special provisions for “green community programs” but offers no guidance on what constitutes a “green community program.” The law further requires a 20% reduction in energy consumption but provides no guidance on how issuers must calculate the required deduction. This uncertainty is an unintended and unnecessary barrier to the creation of thousands of new jobs.
For example, in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, the proposed Holy Cross Redevelopment Project would bring to one of New Orleans’ most underserved neighborhoods its first full-service supermarket in decades, a much needed amenity if the Lower Ninth Ward is to fully recover from decades of disinvestment and the ravages of Katrina. The Holy Cross Redevelopment Project would also create a Center for Educational Excellence, which would provide affordable housing for Teach for America teachers and office space for education-focused non-profits. In sum, the Holy Cross Redevelopment Project would result in $29 million of new investment in the Lower Ninth Ward, create 75 permanent jobs, 175 temporary construction jobs, and produce an additional $200,000 in annual tax revenue.
Crucially, however, the Holy Cross Redevelopment Project can only move forward if the IRS issues clarifying guidance on what constitutes a “green community program.” Without such guidance, those 75 jobs will go uncreated and the Lower Ninth Ward will remain a food desert in the foreseeable future.
Mr. President, we respectfully request that you direct the IRS to issue Temporary Regulations or a Revenue Procedure on QECBs so that state and local governments can strengthen their local economies and create more jobs.
Thank you so much for your consideration of this request.
Gratefully,
The Undersigned