The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act began a new era at the Department of Energy.

President Obama has set clear goals for this bill: creating or protecting 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, while lifting our country out of this economic crisis and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.  To achieve those aims, the Department of Energy has been given new resources and new responsibilities.

Each of the ten initiatives will put Americans back to work and begin to transform the way we use energy.  We will reduce our carbon emissions and create entire new industries based on America’s resources, America’s ingenuity, and America’s workers – and these will be jobs that can’t be outsourced. 

The Department of Energy will carry out this economic recovery plan with the highest level of speed, transparency, and accountability.  I recently announced a sweeping reorganization of the way the Department awards grants and loans, so we can begin creating jobs as quickly and wisely as possible.  We will also be posting the Department’s progress regularly on this website and at http://www.recovery.gov/, where you can monitor the efforts of other federal agencies as well.

Achieving the President’s bold goals will take the hard work and collaboration of all of us – homeowners, scientists, local and state governments, small businesses, industry, and many others – but I am confident that, together, we will succeed.  We will turn this time of economic crisis into an opportunity to build a clean, secure, and prosperous energy future for America.

                                                                        Thank you,

                                                                        Steven Chu