Each week we’ll be reporting on some of the activities of our army members across the country. If you are interested in getting involved in your state, visit the State and District Leaders page here: https://pickensplan.com/district-leaderboard/

Legislative Update

The total number of co-sponsors for the NAT GAS Act (HR 1835): 146 Members of Congress
Is your Member of Congress a co-sponsor? Find out here: https://pickensplan.com/inyourstate

Highlights

  • Alaska State Leader Joyce Allen-Luopa reports that she is reaching out to elected officials and candidates in Alaska about supporting the Pickens Plan.
  • Arizona State Leader Dave Clement is reaching out to his network to contact Sen. Kyl and Sen. McCain’s offices in support of natural gas legislation.
  • California State Leaders John Nobles and Wayne Bowser will be hosting California Gubernatorial candidate Chelene Nightingale on their Green Revolution radio show. They will discuss the current Natural Gas legislation and energy issues. John will be doing a live feed from a Government Access Forum in Apple Valley with talk show host Barb Stanton.
  • Georgia State Leader Sam Fleet had the following Op-Ed printed on www.wearepolitics.com

“The Good and the Bad of Being Green
By Sam Fleet

It’s not easy being Green!” – Kermit the Frog
I saw a Facebook post yesterday that expressed how clean the National Mall was after the Glenn Beck Rally. The line under the post read, “Conservative values are good for the environment.” Being as involved in the energy field as I am the word “green” is used very frequently. Green is most associated with the left wing Democratic Party. Why? We conservatives also have a deep love for our environment. Our surroundings are a gift from God that we must be good stewards of. So why is it that more conservatives refuse to be associated with “green” when it comes to the environment? Well, in the 1980’s being green became a political ideology. Supporters of a green politics style share many ideas with ecology conservatism; they also have concern for civil liberties and social justice. Progressives believe that science has somehow discredited most traditional beliefs. They are opposed by social conservatives on the grounds of positive and negative liberties.
Our environment is a bipartisan issue, or should be. We should all take care of what we have no matter our beliefs socially or politically. Over the past 20 years, politics has really clouded the issues surrounding our environment. My thought is that although we believe in different paths to get to a cleaner, healthier environment, let’s concentrate on our common goals.
Take for instance S1408 (portion of NAT GAS Act 2009). This is a bill that would allow for incentives for converting fleet vehicles over to CNG. This fuel source is ours (American), it is cheaper than our current fuel source, and it happens to be about 30% cleaner. We can all agree on this, a win/win, right? So why hasn’t it just passed? It has not passed because it is such a good bill with bipartisan support that some legislatures would like to add a few things that they can’t get passed on their own. Yes, it is sad. There was a time when the desire of some was to add a little something called cap and trade and wrap it up with a big bow. We know now that won’t fly. This is why conservatives shy away from energy legislation. Too much junk stuck in that is not good for the country! This piece of legislation (S1408) has been ready for implementation for almost 2 years, and those who have chosen to try to make a good bill turn bad are making our country wait. Time for that to end.
I say Conservatives should make a green move. Let’s show the world how America can become energy independent without crazy bureaucracy like cap and trade! Did even the writers of cap and trade believe the government could run yet another department of regulators? The Department of Energy has been around for over 40 years and they have not completed their mission on stopping our dependence on foreign oil. We don’t need mandates! No one made those conservatives on the National Mall clean up, they just did because it was the right thing to do. There are some that may say that this is tax payer money again going out. My response is that we are spending over $1Billion a day for foreign oil, it has become a national security issue, an economic issue and an environmental issue. Being able to keep that large sum here in our economy is worth a bit of an investment! Let’s go green conservatives, and let’s show them how to do it right!”

  • Missouri Pickens Plan member Barbara Martin contacted Senator Claire McCaskill and Representative Lacy Clay’s offices. She left messages at both offices, asking that they support the Natural Gas Act and Pickens Plan.
  • Nebraska army member, and University of Nebraska sophomore, Lawrence Sanders passed out Pickens Plan talking points after the recent Cornhusker home game. He had several people inquire about the plan, and he directed them to sign up at www.pickensplan.com. He also had several people leaving the stadium say, “I’m already in Boone’s army!”
  • New Mexico State Leader Gabe Mayr sent letters to the editors of the following publications: Alamogordo Daily News, Albuquerque Journal, Artesia Daily Press, Carlsbad Current-Argus, Deming Headlight.
  • New York District Leader Jon Hand participated in the AJC’s Second Annual Energy Independence Day, where he sat on the panel as a volunteer member of the Pickens Plan. Jon will do a write-up about his experience this weekend for next week’s report.
  • California State Leader John Nobles made a brief presentation to the Spring Valley Lake Country Club Republican Women’s Club. He discussed the Pickens Plan, what it means to be independent from foreign oil and the legislation they can support with calls to their elected officials. Tim Donnelly, California State Assembly-59th District candidate, attended the meeting and indicated his support of the legislation. He will also be a guest on the Restless Republic to discuss his campaign.

Want to get involved in your State? Click here: https://pickensplan.com/district-leaderboard/