Repower America to Senate: Finish What You Started

Veterans, Small Business Owners, Labor Leaders Travel to Capitol Hill to Make the Case for Clean Energy and Climate Legislation With Their Senators

WASHINGTON, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the U.S. Senate determines how to move forward on current clean energy and climate proposals, today dozens of everyday Americans, from Florida to Maine and in between, brought their homegrown support for clean energy legislation straight to their Senators on Capitol Hill. A group of forty local leaders, including Dianne Byrum, who was the first woman to serve as Democratic Leader of the Michigan House of Representatives; Sister Betty Kane, a Sister of St. Francis in Pennsylvania; Karen Majewski, the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan; Scott McIntyre, a CEO from Florida; and Tim Webster, a veteran from Ohio, will visit with their Senators to convey the urgency of moving forward with comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this year.

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"Every day our leaders fail to enact clean energy legislation, our economy, national security and environment suffer," said Webster. "Clean energy can make us energy independent – that's why I count myself among the thousands of Virginians who support clean energy legislation, and it is why I came to Washington this week to speak with my Senators."

During their meetings, the Repower America members will discuss the benefits of transitioning to clean energy for their states, opportunities for small business in the clean energy economy, as well as current efforts to forward legislation in the Senate.

"It is important to the folks back home in Tampa Bay for our Senators to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this year that will revitalize our economy and end our reliance on foreign oil," said McIntyre.  "I wanted my voice on Capitol Hill to remind Senators LeMieux and Nelson of the needs of Florida and the urgency of finishing what we started."

"It's time to get Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow plugged into the clean energy revolution like we are in Hamtramck," said Mayor Majewski.  "With the auto industry still struggling to rebound from the economic downturn, clean energy is creating jobs in Hamtramck as our community helps build the technology that fuels the hybrid Chevy Volt."

"The race to secure our clean energy future is near the finish line, and the Senate needs to push forward," said Byrum. "I'm visiting my Senator today to carry the message that Michigan needs the jobs and economic opportunity that comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation will bring.  Now is the time to act."

"The current economic crisis has hit everyone hard, but our urban communities have been particularly crippled," said Sister Betty Kane of Aston, PA. "I have been called to help the least fortunate. Comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation would go a long way toward assuring the defense of God's creation, and that the poor and vulnerable communities most affected by the devastating impacts of climate change are protected."  

Albert, Ayers and McIntyre are a part of a groundbreaking multimedia campaign centered around The Repower Wall, an interactive online community, where more than 62,000 people and businesses have uploaded messages supporting a transition to clean energy.  

Some messages from The Repower Wall are also a part of an innovative new grassroots-driven television advertising campaign that provides everyday Americans with the tools to make their voices heard in livings rooms throughout the state and in the nation's capital. By including video messages from The Repower Wall in television ads, the Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign is amplifying the voices that leaders in Washington, D.C., need to hear – their constituents; these are the voices calling for immediate action on clean energy.

For more information about the Repower America campaign, visit www.repoweramerica.org.  

Local leaders traveling to Washington are available for interview, by phone and in-person. Please contact Alice McKeon or Giselle Barry at (202) 567-6800 or [email protected] for booking.

Local leaders meeting with their Senators will include:

Dianne Yvonne Byrum, MI: Byrum lives in Onondaga Township and works as a partner with Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications. Byrum has been elected to numerous public offices, most recently as a member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.  Prior, Byrum served in the House as a representative from the 67th District, where she served as the first-ever woman Democratic House Leader. She was previously elected to serve in several offices, including the Michigan House of Representatives and the Senate, and as Ingham County Commissioner.

W. Scott McIntyre, FL: McIntyre is a University of Florida graduate is the CEO of Solar Energy Management / SEM LLC, a St. Petersburg-based state wide certified solar contractor which provides services, such as solar energy PV systems, foam and batten insulation, just to name a few, designed to lower energy and utility costs and add LEED points. SEM also helps run Matrix Construction, a state wide certified general contractor specializing in commercial new construction and retrofit with energy efficiency as a goal and/or LEED certification.

Karen Majewski, MI: Majewski began public service on the City of Hamtramck's Historical Commission. She served on city council and as city council president and mayor pro tem before being elected Hamtramck's first woman mayor in 2005. She was re-elected in 2009.

Tim Webster, OH: Webster served in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War, and is also a veteran of the U.S. Army. Since his service, Webster has worked in sales, supply chain management, parts, and warehouse management. He is currently an Electrical Energy Consultant.

Sister Betty Kane, PA: Sister Betty Kane, a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia, lives and works in Aston, Pennsylvania. She works particularly with the Franciscan Action Network which promotes care for all creation. Being a Franciscan and a woman of faith, she recognizes creation as a gift from the Creator. In Pennsylvania she lobbied for legislation on climate change and the effects it has on those who are poor. Now it is time to lobby at the federal level for clean, renewable energy.

SOURCE Repower America