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"This bill will empower American ingenuity to create millions of jobs and drive our economy for generations to come. In its initial draft, the bill severely limited private forest products and completely prohibited anything from federal land from counting towards biomass energy. I am proud I was able to change that. Allowing federal, state and private forest products to be used to meet the renewable energy standard will save Northwest jobs. "This will breathe new life into the timber industry that has been hurting for so many years. In addition, by allowing pulp and paper companies to use black liquor and other similar products to meet their renewable energy and fuels standard, we are preserving current operations, creating new opportunities, and consequently more jobs. "We have millions of acres of dead and diseased trees across America, many of them in Southwest Washington. Federal stimulus dollars are going to thin forests to protect against forest fires, yet under the original terms of this bill, those trees would be piled up and burned instead of being used for alternative energy. That’s not only bad environmental policy; it is bad economic policy as well. Had I not been able to change this, I could have never supported this bill. "Green energy jobs will help power our economy out of these difficult times. I have always been a leader in the search for new technologies, and the jobs they will create. Southwest Washington can, and will play a leading role in this process, and I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that the Pacific Northwest is a leader in this green revolution.”