In a memo to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden said the administration's clean energy initiatives, including investments from the stimulus package passed early this year, will help create more than 700,000 jobs.

In a speech on job creation delivered at the Brookings Institution, President Obama suggested using leftover money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help lower rising unemployment, putting an emphasis on creating green jobs. He mentioned using the money to subsidize home weatherization, retrofits and other energy efficiency projects, dubbed "Cash for Caulkers," as a way to create green construction jobs. He also urged Congress to extend some Recovery Act benefits that create clean energy jobs.

Green Jobs Czar Van Jones resigned amid a scandal concerning his signature on a "truther" petition in 2004. "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in his resignation statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

The House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act offers grants for green industries, and funds for worker training to transition into green industries.

Building on the stimulus package's "green jobs" clause, Obama's 2010 budget blueprint includes training provisions for "jobs associated with products and services that use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution, and conserve natural resources."

Obama hopes investing in green infrastructure through the stimulus package will create green-collar jobs.