Jerry McNerney's website

The Independent: "McNerney Says Green Bill Would Bring Jobs to District"

This week's edition of The Independent, a weekly newspaper serving Pleasanton, Livermore and Sunol, highlights Congressman Jerry McNerney's support for the PROGRESS ("Program for Real Energy Security Success") Act -- a "bill that will help give the United States more energy independence in the coming years, and create as many as 800,000 jobs":

McNerney said that having worked for 20 years in the field of renewable energy, he knows that in several categories “we have not begun yet to realize the benefits that new energy technology can offer to this country.” One is job creation, where the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi estimates that 800,000 jobs could be created by 2010. The estimate is from the Tellus Institute, said (Rep. McNerney's Communications Director Andrew) Stone.

McNerney noted that job creation is important in his 11th Congressional District, especially in the San Joaquin County portion of it, where unemployment rates have been higher than the remainder of the district.

More renewable energy will also help to move the United States “toward ending our dependence on foreign oil from Middle East countries.” There would also be environmental security, by putting a crimp into global warming, he said.

To find out more about the five-point plan that forms the PROGRESS Act, check out the rest of The Independent's article here (March 8, 2007 edition).

McNerney named to House Global Warming Committee

Congressman Jerry McNerney, who campaigned for Congress as a renewable energy expert deeply concerned about the climate crisis, has been appointed to the new House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

"Before my election to Congress, I spent more than 20 years of my professional career researching the benefits of and developing renewable energy sources.  I am excited to begin the work of this important committee, including the discussion of exploring and expanding new energy technologies.

"Moving in this direction will not only address the harmful effects of global warming and protect our environment, but will lead to economic stimulation and the creation of an entire spectrum of good-paying jobs here in the United States."

The Select Committee will hold hearings and investigations locally, nationally, and internationally to gather the information needed to protect our national security and the environment. It is charged with recommending to the Congress policies, strategies, technologies and other innovations to reduce the dependence of the United States on foreign sources of energy and prevent global warming.

“The members of the new Select Committee I am appointing today are outstanding for their creativity, diversity of experience, and knowledge of energy and global warming issues,” Speaker Pelosi said. “I have great faith in their ability to lead our efforts to confront these serious challenges. Global warming and energy independence are urgent issues that have profound implications for our nation’s economic competitiveness, national security, environmental quality and public health. The wide-ranging expertise of these members will be critical in finding viable solutions that stimulate our economy, promote jobs, and protect our environment.”

In addition to this new appointment, Congressman McNerney is also serving on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Science and Technology, and Veterans' Affairs Committees.

Lodi News-Sentinel: McNerney's "water bill could help Lodi"

The news that Congressman Jerry McNerney passed his first bill in the House of Representatives is rippling across the 11th Congressional District as local leaders determine how the bill may impact their community if it becomes law. 

In Lodi, officials are hoping to apply for funds from the "Healthy Communities Water Supply Act" to clean up contaminated sewer lines. The Lodi News-Sentinel reported today that:

Lodi can apply for money to help clean up the hazardous materials TCE and PCE, which contaminate the city's groundwater and underwater soil, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said in a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon.

And San Joaquin County, its cities and local water districts can apply for up to $3 million for projects that use surface, or river, water to replenish the parched groundwater basin, the congressman said.

"If we find ways to use surface water to recharge groundwater supplies, it's a good use of this money," McNerney added.

The News-Sentinel also reported that House Resolution 700 is only the "second bill authored by a freshman member of Congress to be heard by the House this year."

Click here to read the rest of reporter Ross Farrow's article.

House overwhelmingly passes first McNerney bill

Congressman Jerry McNerney's first bill sailed through the House of Representatives today.

From a congressional press release:

Today, the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007, authored by Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-11) and sponsored by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA-10), passed the House by a vote of 369 to 55.

The Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 will authorize $125 million in funding for projects that increase usable water supply by encouraging innovation in water reclamation, reuse, and conservation.  The bill provides funding for a grant program that requires a fifty percent local funding match.

“This bill authorizes funds to develop alternative sources of clean drinking water, as well as water for agricultural and industrial purposes,” Rep. McNerney said.  “That’s an important consideration this winter in California with lower than normal rainfall totals and a S ierra snowpack just 65 percent of its normal size – sources that are essential to the state’s water supply.”

“I’m glad that the Congress has finally taken the initiative and passed this legislation.  I have always been a proponent of sound water policies that protect our current supply and create healthy alternatives for future use,” said Rep. Tauscher.  “I’m glad to have leaders like Rep. McNerney among our new Democratic Majority, a majority that allows us to finally pass common-sense legislation protecting our natural resources.”

The Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize alternative water source projects.  It will provide a necessary source of funding for ideas like aquifer storage and retrieval as well as membrane filtering technologies that have the potential to greatly increase our ability to use water more effectively and efficiently through a grant program requiring a local funding match.

“I am excited about this act, which encourages innovation through pilot projects to develop water supplies through conservation, management and reclamation.  It also lets local communities decide what type of project works best for them,” Rep. McNerney said.

The Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 moved quickly through the legislative process after having first been introduced on January 27, 2007.  The Act was considered by the House ubcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, and then moved to the full House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, before being considered by the full House this morning.

Stay tuned for more as this develops...

"Congressman, coffee and chat": McNerney meets Manteca residents on Main Street

Congressman Jerry McNerney took his "Congress At Your Corner" tour to the Main Street Cafe in Manteca on Saturday and the Tri-Valley Herald and Manteca Bulletin were there.

This unique opportunity to talk with a member of Congress was a big hit with local residents, as Mike Martinez of the Herald discovered:

MANTECA — For many, it was the first time they had ever met a member of the U.S. Congress.

U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, hopes it won't be the last.

As part of an ongoing "Congress at Your Corner" program, the freshman congressman was at the Main Street Cafe in Manteca on Saturday morning, talking with everyone who approached him.

Topics of conversation from the weekday morning-sized crowd ranged from litter on freeways to levees and from job creation to the war in Iraq, and McNerney didn't appear to mind.

"I want to hear the constituents' concerns," McNerney said. "Sometimes they feel intimidated by going to a congressional office. This gives them a chance to come to me with their concerns in an ordinary setting."

You can read the rest of the Herald article here.

Manteca City Councilman John Harris visited McNerney at the Main Street Cafe as well, as Dennis Wyatt of the Manteca Bulletin reported:

Harris dropped by to show McNerney a book — which the congressman indicated he already had — concerning the Great Valley Center’s outlook on challenges in dealing with growth in the coming decades.

Harris also wanted to share a bit of Manteca history with McNerney.

He had a news clipping from the 1950’s about another Democrat who knocked off what everyone thought was an entrenched eight-term Republican congressman. The upstart Democrat? Manteca native son and former mayor, the late John McFall.

McNerney knocked off eight-term incumbent Republican Richard Pombo in the November election.

“History does repeat itself,” Harris said. “He’s a lot like John McFall was as well. McNerney can walk into a room and be comfortable talking with people and be genuinely interested as well, just like McFall could.”

You can read the rest of the Manteca Bulletin article here.

Stay tuned for more Congress At Your Corner events in the coming weeks...

McNerney to Bush on VA: "Put money where his mouth is"

Congressman Jerry McNerney was interviewed Friday on KCBS about veterans affairs issues, including the deplorable conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Congressman McNerney serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

The Congressman, whose son Michael is a veteran, said he was "shocked" at the conditions at Walter Reed. He was also blunt about the importance of prioritizing the ongoing treatment and long-term care of veterans, and encouraged President Bush to "put his money where his mouth is" in funding that treatment.

You can listen to the full KCBS interview here.

In February, Congressman McNerney spoke before an advisory panel on the need to keep the Livermore VA nursing home open as well as opening up a new facility in San Joaquin County:

Rep Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said at Friday's meeting that he hopes there is enough room in the Department of Veterans Affairs' budget for nursing homes in both places. He said the Livermore area's large population of veterans warrants consideration of a facility there.

"We should be expanding, not cutting, veterans' services, and I'm hopeful that the panel will ultimately agree with me," McNerney told the panel. "As we look at future options for the use of Livermore, we must keep in mind that increasing numbers of veterans will be looking to the VA for care as overseas conflicts continue."

You can read the rest of that post on Jerry's Blog here. 

WIRED connects with Congressman McNerney

The March 2007 issue of WIRED magazine includes a brief Q&A with Congressman Jerry McNerney. Among the nuggets:

How has the reception been on Capitol Hill?
It's been incredibly warm. When Senator Jon Tester learned who I was, he did a bow with his hands stretched out. That was cool.

What’s first on your agenda?
Doing away with subsidies to oil companies and reforming the oil royalty system. A lot of companies have been drilling without paying royalties, and that has to stop. It’s up to government to collect that money, a lot of which will go to developing renewable energy.

You can read the rest of the interview as well as check out a unique WIRED photo of the Congressman here.