President Barack Obama hailed a revolutionary type of solar power plant being built in the Mojave Desert, saying it would help stake "our claim to continued leadership in the new global economy."
In his weekly radio address Saturday, Obama said the facility — which should provide power for 140,000 homes and be the biggest of its type in the world — had been made possible by government incentives for clean energy, which he claimed the Republicans had pledged to abolish.
"That's what's at stake in this debate," the president said.
"We can go back to the failed energy policies that profited the oil companies but weakened our country," he added. "We can go back to the days when promising industries got set up overseas. Or we can go after new jobs in growing industries. And we can spur innovation and help make our economy more competitive."
Part of the House GOP's recently released "Pledge to America" calls for freezing spending from last year's stimulus bill.
The stimulus included $90 billion for clean energy projects ranging from electric vehicles to solar loan guarantees, although a big chunk of the money has already been obligated or spent.
Reduce need for foreign oil
Obama said 1,000 jobs were being created to build the plant, which is a project by BrightSource Energy.
"When it's complete, it will turn sunlight into the energy that will power up to 140,000 homes - the largest such plant in the world. Not in China. Not in India. But in California," the president said.
"With projects like this one and others across this country, we are staking our claim to continued leadership in the new global economy," Obama added. "And we're putting Americans to work producing clean, homegrown American energy that will help lower our reliance on foreign oil and protect our planet for future generations."
Republicans disputed Obama's criticism, saying they support investments in renewable energy technologies.
Separately, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell took aim in the GOP radio response at government spending, accusing majority Democrats of "maxing out the national credit card on a failed stimulus bill and a government-run health care bill."
The Kentucky Republican also criticized Democrats for recessing Congress until after the elections without acting to extend the Bush-era tax cuts, which expire in January.
Obama and Democratic leaders want to extend the tax cuts only for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000, while Republicans and some rank-and-file Democrats want to extend tax cuts for the wealthy as well, a costlier proposition.
"Whenever they were asked about this looming tax hike, they just blamed the Republicans," McConnell said.
"They said that Republicans will be to blame for some people getting a tax hike because we didn't think anyone should get a tax hike," he added. "The fact is, the best way to help individuals and small businesses and the economy is to give them all the certainty that their taxes won't be going up at the end of the year."
