Joe Biden

“ But now in the midst of this historic economic downturn, the middle class is sure participating in the pain; they're sure in on the downside. They weren't very much in on the upside; they're in on the downside. ”

“ Building a new power grid, manufacturing solar panels, weatherizing homes and office buildings, renovating schools are just a few examples of ways in which we can create good-quality green jobs to strengthen our economy. ”

“ Scientists working on an advanced, renewable alternative to CO2-producing fossil fuels is engaged in a green job, as is a laborer winterizing or weatherizing a home, or a lineman or a linewoman building out the smart grid -- they're all green jobs. ”

“ And secondly, more green jobs mean more money in the wallet of every American who engages in this at the end of the month. Weatherizing your home creates a job, but it also -- it also lowers your monthly bill, lowering the strain on your budget. ”

“ In order to bring significant amounts of renewable energy online, we need to invest in tens of thousands of new, high-voltage -- tens of thousands of miles of high-voltage national transmission line. We kicked this off with a minimum of 3,000 miles of those new lines.
With more than $11 billion to invest in a new smart grid, the recovery act we believe will jumpstart the modernization of the electrical grid. These investments are going to create thousands of miles of new, modernized, high-tech transmission lines. ”

“ I've been a senator for 36 years, and I think I can count on one hand when I've watched people cast a vote from the side of the aisle, Democrat or Republican, that they happen to sit on, that no one doubts cost them -- cost them politically, but cast the vote because they truly believed it was in the best interest in the country. ”

“ Between the year 2000 and 2007, American workers -- American workers were highly productive -- productivity increased significantly, yet the income of middle-class households fell $2,000 a year. We broke the bargain, the bargain that was made back in the middle of the last century -- that workers producing a more productive economy would participate -- participate in the benefits of that increased production. ”

“ These smart meters and the modernization of the power grid itself will allow for smarter, more efficient delivery of power that will save energy, lower our monthly bills, enable future innovations in renewable energy and electric vehicles. ”

“ When President Obama signed the economic recovery package into law last week, it included, among other things, more than $19 billion in renewable energy like wind and solar power, which would create more jobs like those created here in Pennsylvania at (inaudible) , a company that puts steel workers to work building windmills, or AE Polysilicon, a company that will make components of solar panels. It includes $11 billion to help build a new transmission superhighway. We all know that the existing electrical grid today is inadequate, insufficient and outdated. ”

“ In L.A. there is electrical training (inaudible) southern California, a labor management partnership, jointly sponsored by a union in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and a business coalition of private contractors. The training required is like -- is required under an apprenticeship model, requiring over 1,000 hours of classroom work and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training -- very rigorous program.
These are the kind of programs that are going to apply for the secretary seated here, in saying: Fund us. Fund us; we will train these women and men for these jobs. ”

“ For example, of all the wind power that we're talking about being able to create in the Midwest and North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and other plain states, is a -- significant potential. But it cannot carry that energy right now to population centers that need the electricity most without a new transmission superhighway. ”

“ And just today, in Chicago, 250 workers who had been laid off from a window plant are celebrating today, because they were bought by another country -- company, who will -- (laughter) -- Chicago was bought by Canada, no -- (laughter) -- excuse me, that were bought by another company who will build energy-efficient windows through weatherization. A representative from the company told The New York Times they saw an opportunity to expand their operations as a direct result of the money in the recovery package for weatherization: more jobs. ”

“ And so, folks, it's important the cost of training, which is free to the participants, involves less than 10 percent of the public funding, the rest of it being paid by unions, contractors, business organizations, because they see the need for this. And by the way, in some of these programs, apprentices can be making $20 an hour; when they graduate, they can be making as much as $50 an hour in some of these undertakings. ”

“ Even graduates of this extensive training are eligible for constant upgrades and technological advances as things change. So two years, five years, 10 years from now, they're going to have to go back and re-train, because technology is going to move ahead of them. ”

“ The bill also will deploy 40 million new smart meters, the meters that people have on the side of their homes and people have on the side of their buildings, and at the basements of the buildings that exist in businesses. ”