Letter to Virginia Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner    •     April 7, 2010

Senator Jim Webb
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Mark Warner
459A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Webb & Warner,

We are business leaders from companies of all sizes and many sectors throughout Virginia urging you to work with all of your colleagues and in particular with Senators Graham (R-SC), Kerry (D-MA), and Lieberman (I-CT) to craft a pragmatic, bi-partisan solution to comprehensively address our energy and climate challenges. We need to address how America can create new energy jobs, cut carbon emissions and increase our energy independence. We need to address the importance of new and existing energy resources and as businesses need certainty, we need to address it this year.

While at home during your State Work Period, we hope you will meet and listen to businesses calling for you to support this approach. Upon your return to Washington, DC we ask that you give thoughtful consideration to their proposal on comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

Strong energy and climate legislation will create millions of new American jobs by providing market certainty and enabling a transition to a new energy economy. By sending the right market signals, Congress can unlock investments in new energy innovations and drive business growth allowing us to expand operations and create new jobs right here in Virginia.

Today, the United States is falling behind in the global race to lead the new clean energy economy. In order for American business to unleash a new industrial revolution in energy, we need cooperative and coordinated action in the public policy and business arenas. We are ready to compete in the global marketplace, and we urge you to act so that we can win the race for a new clean energy economy. We stand ready to work with you to build this vital and growing economic sector.

Now is the time to act. Together we can lead.

Sincerely,