In the Senate, Jon has championed Montanan’s resources and innovation when it comes to securing America’s energy future. And he’s achieved concrete results cutting red tape, investing in groundbreaking efforts, and opening up opportunities for Montana to seize its potential as a leader in renewable energy development.

Jon played a key role in the debate over the 2007 Farm Bill, successfully including a provision in the bill opening up crop insurance to producers of the biofuel camelina. He’s also helped advance camelina research at Montana’s universities. That same year, Jon helped pass a bipartisan energy bill which created energy jobs, expanded carbon capture efforts, and boosted savings through energy efficiency.

From his seat on the influential Appropriations Committee, Jon has fought for and won investments in innovative projects, like Montana universities’ bio-diesel research, wind turbine development, and renewable energy workforce training. He has secured investments through the Committee in oilseed and ethanol production, and helped open up capital investment opportunities for Montana’s energy start-ups. And he’s won major grant funding for the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership.

In 2009, Jon introduced bipartisan legislation to jump-start biofuel production in national forests. Jon successfully fought for the federal Bureau of Land Management to fully staff its Renewable Energy Coordinating Team in Montana, to help make commercial-scale renewable energy production a reality.

The Senate Energy Committee in 2010 approved Jon’s legislation to provide rebates to owners of substandard mobile homes to upgrade to newer, more energy efficient mobile homes. And more recently, Jon has introduced legislation to:

• Open up U.S. Department of Energy grants to help local governments, universities, nonprofits, and manufacturers further develop geothermal energy technology
• Streamline the leasing process on public lands for wind and solar energy development
• Help co-ops and localities construct renewable energy transmission lines and deliver Montana-made energy to larger markets
• Allow states and local communities to create support networks for energy efficiency projects

Click HERE to see more about where Jon stands on Montana’s role in securing America’s energy future.