By LIAM PUTZ
Guest Columnist
I find, like many others, that the start of spring carries with it a fresh energy. This sense of renewal is felt from the flowers blooming to the Little League teams busting out crisp uniforms in anticipation of a new season. On a beautiful day, it’s certainly felt by students on college campuses like mine. It’s a spirit of optimism and possibility and its exactly what our country needs in Washington.
After a long winter – scratch that – year, our country needs leaders who are ready to do the hard work of building consensus and finding solutions that gets the U.S. back on track. The decisions made by leaders today are the foundation of tomorrow’s America. My generation overwhelmingly believes that foundation must include infrastructure investments and low carbon innovation that promote resiliency, efficiency, affordability and energy independence.
Despite rhetoric trying to paint it otherwise clean energy and sustainability is a place of common ground. A history of misplaced partisan framing has sullied the conversation, but as it stands Republicans and Democrats alike think climate change is a real threat and want to take action. Seventy-four percent of Americans support increased government action to boost clean energy development, according to a poll by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. From my time on campaigns to chairing the Butler College Republicans, I know this to be particularly true of young voters.
This is why it’s so important for elected officials to move ahead with a bipartisan plan to reinvest in American infrastructure and prep the nation to grow with future opportunities. Thankfully, Congress has already started the process by passing the Energy Act of 2020 last December. It was the nation’s first comprehensive energy innovation package in more than a decade. A true bipartisan achievement, the Act will allow for investments in clean energy infrastructure, energy efficiency, renewables, grid modernizations and more.
Senator Mike Braun (R) also provides a promising example. He’s a leading voice on the environment among Republicans, but more importantly he works across the aisle to bring his conservative principles and perspectives into a bipartisan conversation. This approach led to his co-founding the Senate’s bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and also led to him championing the Growing Climate Solutions Act. Re-introduced this year with support from both Senator Mike Braun and Senator Todd Young, the GCSA supports the free market and will empower more of the agricultural community to adopt carbon capture practices.
After so much uncertainty and hardship over the last year, leaders in Washington must focus their attention on solutions the better Americans quality of life, create jobs and provide a strong foundation for the nation to grow. Smart infrastructure investments can hit all three. Congress should not miss out on this opportunity, nor should it forget the public appetite for an infrastructure that builds a more resilient, productive and low-carbon future.