Iowa DUers - Energy Bill and Senator, Charles Grassley [View All]

[Booberdawg]

Dear MoveOn Member in Iowa,

As top Republicans try to force final passage of a terrible energy
bill <1>, your Senator, Charles Grassley, is doing Iowa and the country
a real service by preventing final passage until the bill contains
certain provisions he supports.

This is good, but it could be better. Grassley is now fighting mainly
for ethanol subsidies, something we don't particularly support, except
that his stand is preventing passage of the energy bill. <2>

Here's how it could be better: Grassley has in the past supported a
provision called a Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), that would
require America to produce 10% of its energy from renewable sources by
2020. <3> An RPS would be a big step forward for energy independence
and for the environment, and it would benefit Iowa's economy because
Iowa can produce energy from renewable sources, including wind, solar,
and biomass.

Grassley voted for an RPS last year, and though the other Republicans
finalizing this year's energy bill have refused to include an RPS,
Grassley said a few weeks ago that he would support it this year too.

Let's urge him to insist that this year's energy bill contain an RPS.
This will have two benefits: (1) it supports an important policy; (2)
it reinforces Grassley's resistance to passing the bill as it stands.

Please call your Senator now, at:

Senator Charles Grassley

Washington, DC: 202-224-3744
Des Moines: 515-284-4574
Davenport: 319-322-4331
Cedar Rapids: 319-363-6832
Sioux City: 712-233-1860
Council Bluffs: 712-322-7103
Waterloo: 319-232-6657

Make sure his staff members know you're a constituent (Grassley is up
for re-election next year). Then urge him to:

"Please insist that a Renewables Portfolio Standard be included
in the energy bill."

Then give some reasons why renewable energy is important to you.

Please let us know you're calling - we'd like to keep a count:

http://www.moveon.org/callmade3.html?id=2057-3329492-itSRUfRfRLSaC5TQfqpiTw

Please make your call right away. The situation is very fluid -- Vice
President Cheney was on Capitol Hill yesterday, twisting arms on the
energy bill.

Thanks for all you're doing to leave a better world for our kids.

Sincerely,

- Peter Schurman
MoveOn.org
Thursday, October 30th, 2003

<1> For more information on the energy bill and why it's so awful, see:
http://www.sierraclub.org/energy/bush_bill.asp

<2> For more detailed information on the current situation and
Grassley's role in it, see this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-energy-congress.html

<3> For more information on the Renewables Portfolio Standard, see:
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy/page.cfm?pageID=109
and
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy/page.cfm?pageID=46
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