Giffords Ad Highlights Strategy to Invest in Renewable Energy

TUCSON - Gabrielle Giffords’ campaign for Congress today released its latest television ad, “Get the Picture,” which highlights Giffords’ proposal to invest in renewable energy to create jobs and lower energy prices.

To watch “Get the Picture,” click here.

“For too long, politicians in Washington pushed us to build these…” Giffords says in the ad, as a drawing of a power plant appears in the Southern Arizona desert. “Instead of tapping the sun and building these,” she continues, as a drawing of solar panels appears.

“They’ve sold out to the oil companies, and we’re paying the price,” Giffords says in the ad. “By investing in renewables like solar energy, we’ll create good jobs in Arizona,” Giffords continues. “We can lower energy prices and end our dependency on foreign oil.”

“Get the Picture” can be seen in the Tucson media market, which covers the entire Congressional district.

Giffords has made investing in renewable energy a centerpiece of her campaign for a new direction in Washington. Last month, Giffords unveiled her renewable energy plan, which calls for the repeal of the $5.4 billion in oil company tax giveaways that Congress passed last year, and using the proceeds to:

1. Increase and extend federal tax credits for homeowners and business owners who purchase and install solar panels on their homes and businesses, in order to aggressively encourage Americans to invest in renewable energy and become more efficient.

2. Enact new tax credits to induce car manufacturers to install flexible fuel tanks in the cars they produce (at an additional cost of only $100 per vehicle). Flexible fuel tanks can use a blend of ethanol and gasoline known as E85 (consisting of 85% ethanol and 15% petroleum), a fuel that dramatically reduces global warming pollution. Flexible tanks can also use conventional gasoline.

3. Invest in research and development for new technologies to enable the United States to break away from its dependence on foreign oil. This investment in the future will lead to additional alternative fuels, more efficient appliances, new lightweight and efficient materials for cars, an increase in the number of alternative fuel stations, enhanced vehicle mileage, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions.

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