Kerry, American Voices Headline Huge Town Hall in Washington

The first question moderator Frank Sesno asked in yesterday American Clean Energy Now Town Hall was as simple, but important one.

“How many of you are from outside Washington, outside the beltway?” Nearly every hand in the audience went up.

And that was the importance of the town hall, headlined by a speech from Senator John Kerry, voices from the national security, business, energy and labor sectors. This town hall was about 200 real Americans, in Washington to tell their Senators that America needs comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

From the steelworker, who when asked if this bill would cost jobs said not on her watch, to the businessman from Dow Chemical, who said the legislation will create millions of jobs, the message was clear: in a struggling American economy, this bill is about jobs.

It is also about national security, as a retired Air Force Lt. General and a veteran of the Iraq war, sitting next to Senator Kerry, made clear. And it was Kerry who made the simplest statement on the subject, saying that the U.S. spending $1 billion overseas for oil everyday is, “crazy.”

Yes, Senator, it is. As is our reliance on oil in general, which leads to these vast overseas expenditures, as well as devastating environmental disasters that put livelihoods at risk. So is our reliance on coal, a dirty, destructive industry led by a CEO who called an explosion in his mine in April that killed 29 workers “an act of God,” and not one of negligence.

And it is crazy to look at a piece of legislation with the ability to move our country into the 21st century economy that workers across America need and not immediately call for its passage. Americans from across this great country came to Washington yesterday to say just that.

Watch Senator Kerry and check back for more videos throughout the day: