Merkley proposes 25% National Renewable Energy Standard

As Speaker of the Oregon House, I delivered on my promise to make Oregon a national leader in the transition to renewable energy sources. Our dependence on foreign oil has become an albatross that is undermining America's foreign policy and national security, weakening our own economy, and contributing to climate change.

We must end our reliance on foreign oil. This is essential if we are to reverse the effects of global climate change, making us more secure and strengthening our economy. As the next U.S. Senator for Oregon my priorities will include:

*Setting a 25% renewable energy standard by 2025. Under my leadership, Oregon adopted this 25% standard - one of the highest in the nation. I will push to make this the national standard. By adopting this new standard we will pump billions of dollars into investments in clean energy sources such as wind, solar and bio fuels. We can fund these investments by closing tax loopholes that currently give our tax dollars to big oil companies and redirect these funds back into our economy, creating thousands of jobs. Congressional Republicans are working day and night to eliminate these standards from the energy bill. As Oregon's next U.S. Senator, I will fight to keep this from happening.

*I strongly support increasing the fuel economy standards for cars driven in the United States to thirty five miles per gallon. This will save consumers money at the pump and reduce emissions that cause global warming. In her "Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act", Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington calls for a 35 mpg fuel economy standard by 2017. As Oregon's next U.S. Senator, I'll work with Senator Cantwell to include these standards in America's energy policy.

Please join me in this effort by signing on to my plan. After you've signed, please forward this to five of your friends so that they can learn about my solutions to fighting global climate change. Together we can demand action by our national leaders.

The problem in Washington D.C. are people like Gordon Smith who continue to rubber stamp the failed Bush/Cheney energy policy. As Oregon House Speaker, I have proposed serious solutions for some of Oregon's most critical problems. If you agree that we need this kind of solution-focused leadership in the U.S. Senate, please contribute to my campaign.

Thank you for signing on to this plan. I look forward to sharing more of it with you over the next two weeks.

For Oregon,

Jeff Merkley

P.S. The GOP and Gordon Smith have failed to act on climate change. After you have signed on in support of my plan to reverse the effects of climate change, please remember to forward this to five of your friends so that they can sign on too.