WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on President Biden’s invoking the Defense Production Act.

“We applaud President Biden’s invocation of the Defense Production Act (DPA),  and the administration’s commitment ensuring this implementation is done in the most sustainable way possible. There is a reason why the Progressive Caucus included invoking the DPA in our executive action agenda, and why the climate movement has also called for it: in light of the very real emergency of climate change, it is an essential tool and a unique power vested in the executive that can seriously expand our ability to produce renewable energy and lower utility costs for working families. As we celebrate this important step, we will continue to advocate for its use to mobilize domestic industry with good-paying union jobs to manufacture the renewable, energy-efficiency and transportation technologies we need — such as distributed solar, storage, microgrids, heat pumps, insulation, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure — both domestically and to export abroad.”