In a blinding flash of protectionism, New York Senator Charles Schumer has written a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, asking Chu to block federal funding for development of a huge $1.5 billion Texas wind farm which will be build using turbines manufactured in China. The project is expected to create 330 jobs in Texas and 800 jobs in the Chinese factory which will build the turbines. “The purpose of the Recovery Act was to jump start the economy to create and save jobs – American jobs,” Schumer wrote. “American taxpayer dollars should not be used to finance those Chinese jobs.”
Walt Horniday, president of one of the U. S. partners in the project, responded, “This project will not take place without the planned benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Any characterization of this planned project as anything other than an economic development lifeline to the wind industry during tough economic times is just inaccurate.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas used the wind farm project as one example of a failure of Obama administration economic policies. “This just shows how ridiculous this whole stimulus proposal was,” Cornyn said, acknowledging, however, that “Texas would like to have the investment.” Cornyn seems to forget that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was crafted in Congress, and apparently passed without much thought by Senators and Representatives as to what American businesses would do with the $787 billion they were doling out.
Walt Horniday, president of one of the U. S. partners in the project, responded, “This project will not take place without the planned benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Any characterization of this planned project as anything other than an economic development lifeline to the wind industry during tough economic times is just inaccurate.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas used the wind farm project as one example of a failure of Obama administration economic policies. “This just shows how ridiculous this whole stimulus proposal was,” Cornyn said, acknowledging, however, that “Texas would like to have the investment.” Cornyn seems to forget that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was crafted in Congress, and apparently passed without much thought by Senators and Representatives as to what American businesses would do with the $787 billion they were doling out.
