Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
Home > Issues > Energy > New Apollo > Rally
Issues
The New Apollo Energy Project
Inslee Rallies Democrats Around Clean Energy Plan
19 March 2003
U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee presented his “New Apollo Energy Project” to the Democratic Caucus this morning, in hopes that the Democratic Party will adopt such a plan as their “alternative” energy bill. Over the last couple of months, Inslee has been leading a core group of about 30 Members of Congress to develop the proposal.
Over seventy Members of Congress attended. Presenters included John Podesta who talked about the job creation aspects of a new clean energy plan, scientists who talked about new technologies, and pollsters who pointed out the fact Americans already strongly support such a plan.
Said Inslee “Americans are way ahead of Congress in their support for a new energy plan, and they are light-years ahead of the Bush Administration on this issue. The information presented today was well received by Members.
“Democrats would be wise to unite behind a clean energy policy. This is an issue that resonates with constituents back at home. It is obvious that reducing our dependence on oil from the Middle East would increase our national security. A clean energy plan would also reduce global warming and create jobs as we support homegrown renewable and alternative energy technology industries.
“It is apparent that the Administration has failed to provide a real vision on energy policy and it completely lacks faith on American ingenuity and know-how to implement a New Apollo Energy Project. The “New Apollo” project is the perfect opportunity for the Democratic Party to seize and advance an issue consistent with our values, and it is the right thing to do.
“This meeting was a very important step in developing a bold and ambitious plan for Democratic Party on energy policy. Our next step is to work with the Leadership to appoint a task force to work on the fine points of this plan, and to move on the quick adoption of a new policy.”
Below is some text of the “Dear Colleague” letter that Inslee sent to other Members of Congress inviting them to attend today's meeting:
Dear Democratic Colleague:
I am writing to encourage you to attend this Wednesday’s 8:45am Democratic Caucus meeting on energy policy, at which I will join with several other Members to encourage the Caucus to champion a “New Apollo Project” to develop a truly new energy policy for America.
Presenters at the meeting to discuss the New Apollo project will include John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff, and Dr. Martin Hoffert, Professor of Physics, New York University.
The New Apollo Project will marshal the resources of the federal government to provide a vision for solving the following challenges: 1) how to break our addiction to oil from the Middle East, thereby improving our homeland and national security; 2) how to expand our economy and create jobs; and 3) how to address such environmental problems as global warming and respiratory health.
It is clear that the ideas we propose in this Congress must be bold, must answer the most pressing problems faced by the nation, and must be understandable. This New Apollo Project fulfills those requirements for being a central tenet of our caucus’s efforts, and it is attuned with the American values of resourcefulness, ingenuity, creativity, and can-do attitude.
I am optimistic that with a little imagination and a lot of hard work, we can work through the varying interests and concerns of our party to come up with a proposal that is clear, credible, and represents a consensus within our Caucus.
I hope you will be able to attend Wednesday’s Caucus meeting and help to develop a vision for energy policy in our country that is agreeable to the Caucus, yet bold enough to capture the imagination of the American people.
Very truly yours,
Jay Inslee