At a time when unemployment rates are still at record highs, a new report shows that The American Power Act in its current form could create as many as 200,000 new jobs in America.
The study was conducted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who say that over the next ten years, the Kerry-Lieberman bill could put as many as 200,000 people back to work.
The Peterson Institute says that as many as 165,000 of these new jobs would be in the nuclear power sector, with potentially 96,000 in the so-called “clean coal” sector. If their projections hold true, the real number of jobs created could exceed 300,000.
Of course, this number is still significantly smaller than the projected 1.9 million jobs that the Waxman-Markey bill had estimated over the next ten years.
The New York Times is reporting that the job creation will come from the estimated US$41 billion worth of investments that will occur every year in order to switch over to cleaner energy technologies. However, the Peterson Institute study warns that some of these gains in employment could be phased out by the year 2025, as some provisions of the proposed legislation would expire around that time.
In addition to job creation, the Peterson Institute also says that the legislation could help reduce energy bill costs for American families, which would in turn benefit the entire economy.
The major money-saving aspect of the bill is that it reduces dependence on foreign oil, which is substantially more expensive and more dangerous to acquire than alternative forms of energy created in America.
While the bill is making good progress, it is still lacking Republican support, which will be necessary to pass the bill. After that, both Chambers will begin working on merging the two bills and submit a final version for a floor vote.
Farron Cousins is an editor and senior staff writer for The American Trial Lawyer magazine, where he has covered issues of renewable energy and environmental law since 2007. His writings have also appeared in publications such as California's Information Press, and Pensacola's Independent Weekly.
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