Congressman Gordon issued the following statement on Nissan's announcement of its national roll-out plan for the all-electric LEAF:

The Nissan LEAF is good for the country and good for Middle Tennessee. I applaud Nissan's ambitious rollout plan and I am pleased Tennesseans will be among the LEAF's first customers next month. From manufacturing to market, Tennessee will be at the front lines of a growing green energy economy.

In Congress, I sponsored the America COMPETES Act, which includes a program called ARPA-E dedicated to breakthrough energy research. Innovations coming out of ARPA-E could produce technology to make future models of the LEAF even lighter, more powerful and more affordable. They could lead to other such manufacturing and technology breakthroughs that create thousands more jobs in our state.

We must continue supporting innovation in this country to help kick start our national economy and create jobs right here in Tennessee.