Mayors dismayed by exclusion of EECBG funding in Power Act
The American Power Act that was introduced Wednesday in the Senate is missing a key element — funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) program, according to a statement from the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM). EECBG, which was created last year, would fund cities’ energy efficiency and environmental programs.
“Last year, the nation’s mayors were most encouraged with the partnership we had with the Senate when the 2009 energy and climate bill included [EECBG],” USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran said in a statement. “We are frustrated and perplexed that the legislation announced today does not include [EECBG] for cities and local governments.”
USCM’s Mayors Climate Protection Center includes 1,036 mayors and cities looking for a partnership with the federal government on greenhouse gas reduction and greater energy independence, Cochran says. “[EECBG] grants are tools that we need to forge the public/private initiatives, as well as enlisting and involving the 85 percent of the American people who live in cities and their metro areas,” Cochran says in the statement. “[The American Power Act] has a goal of reducing carbon pollution by 17 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050. We stand and speak out to say that the nation cannot meet these goals unless mayors, cities, and their metro regions are totally involved in this national effort.”
Read Cochran’s entire statement.