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Energy
I voted against H.R.
4, the Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) Act,
when it passed by a vote
of 240 to 189. I opposed the SAFE Act in large part
because it authorized drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge (ANWR), did not contain a long-overdue increase in fuel
efficiency standards for SUVs, and included tens of billions
of dollars in special interest tax and royalty breaks.
For decades, our country has lacked a national energy
policy. While I did not agree with everything in the Bush
Administration's Report of the
National Energy Policy Development Group issued in
May, I was grateful President Bush put forward a comprehensive
proposal. The President's energy plan was a model of good
government compared to the severely flawed bill approved by
the House.
I was particularly disturbed by the bill's special interest
tax credits, most of which were not requested by the
President. The SAFE Act provides over $33 billion in tax
breaks over 10 years, including an astonishing $25.3 billion
for the nuclear, coal, electric utility, and oil and gas
industries.
These are enormously profitable industries operating in a
time of record energy prices. I fail to understand why the
major thrust of the bill's tax provisions involve further
subsidizing of these industries rather than providing
incentives for conservation and renewable sources of energy.
Clearly the market has already provided the fossil fuel
industries with sufficient incentive to increase production.
We need to increase the supply of energy, but we also need
to be more energy efficient and slow the growth of demand.
CAFE Standards
I cosponsored an amendment to close the "light truck
loophole" in fuel efficiency standards. Currently, the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars is
27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) while the standard for SUVs and
light trucks is only 20.7 mpg. That separate, lower standard
is a relic from an age when "light trucks" were mostly farm
vehicles and pickups used for light industrial work. Today,
SUVs and minivans have broken down this distinction.
Our CAFE amendment would have eliminated the separate
category for "light trucks" and required the average fuel
economy for all passenger vehicles to be 27.5 mpg. I feel this
is the least we can do to begin slowing the growth in demand
for energy in America. Unfortunately, the CAFE amendment was
rejected by a vote
of 160 to 269.
Actic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
In my judgment, it would be far better to develop prudent
and lasting alternate fuel energies than to risk irreparable
damage to the wilderness of one of North America's most
beautiful frontiers.
When President Dwight Eisenhower established ANWR, he
simultaneously turned over 20 million acres in the heart of
the American Arctic to the State of Alaska for development.
Fully 95 percent of Alaska's oil rich North Slope is open to
oil and gas exploration or development, including the National
Petroleum Reserve, an area the size of Indiana.
While drilling in ANWR could supply only six months of oil
for the United States, if sports utility vehicles and light
trucks were held to the same efficiency standards as cars, in
just over three years the country would save more gasoline
than is economically recoverable from ANWR.
Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a quick fix, not a
sustainable solution. Through fuel-efficient automobiles,
energy efficiency and increased renewable energy, we can lower
the demand for oil and our overdependance on imported fuels.
During consideration of the Securing America's Future
Energy (SAFE) Act, I spoke in favor of an amendment by
Representatives Ed Markey and Nancy Johnson to keep ANWR
closed to oil and gas drilling. In my remarks I said:
I find it unconscionable that we would now consider
despoiling one of North America's last great wilderness areas,
when we are unwilling to take
even the smallest steps
towards slowing the growth in demand for energy resources.
The bottom line is we are not resolving our energy needs,
because we are not conserving. We'll just continue to consume
more and waste more, consume more and waste more, and act like
it doesn't matter. We are on a demand course that is simply
unsustainable!
Unfortunately, the Markey-Johnson Amendment was defeated by
a vote
of 206 to 223. I am pleased the Senate was able to
block attempts to despoil ANWR and hope we can eventually
enact a balanced energy policy.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
I
support tax incentives for renewable energy and additional
funding for research and development efforts in the areas of
energy efficiency and renewable energy. H.R. 4 establishes an
alternative fuel vehicle demonstration program; provides new
authorization for research and development into hydrogen,
biomass, and renewable energy; sets stricter standards for
energy use in federal buildings; and expands the successful
EnergyStar program which provides consumer information about
appliance energy efficiency. | 
