"America deserves a safe, clean, affordable energy future. We can reduce our reliance on oil from unstable places and secure our energy future by using America's technological know-how to develop newer, cleaner sources of energy like solar and wind, and by making our cars, homes and appliances more energy efficient. While the Daschle - Bingaman legislation is a far cry over H.R. 4, the dirty and dangerous energy bill passed by the House, it is too soon to tell whether it will deliver a truly smarter, cleaner energy future for America. The good news is that, unlike the House bill, the Daschle-Bingaman energy legislation does not pillage the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other sensitive areas. We applaud them for this. The bad news is that the bill contains increased subsidies for the polluting nuclear, coal and oil industries and is silent on several important measures that guarantee a smarter, cleaner energy future for America.

To secure a new energy future for America, the Senate bill must be improved in the following ways:

Energy Efficiency -- While we applaud the appliance efficiency measures and the energy efficiency research funding authorized by the Senate bill, the efficiency provisions of the bill are incomplete. The Daschle-Bingaman bill so far contains only "placeholders" for critical measure such as significant increases in auto fuel economy. The bill also does not yet include crucial energy efficiency tax incentives. According to a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, each automaker could produce a fleet of cars and light trucks that averages 40 miles per gallon (mpg) using cost-effective, existing technology. Raising fuel efficiency standards for new cars, SUVs, and other light trucks to an average of 40 miles per gallon would save more than current imports from the Persian Gulf and the projected yield from the Arctic Refuge, combined by 2020. If these Senators are serious about reducing dependence on foreign oil, saving consumers money at the gas pump and reducing global warming pollution, they must add increased vehicle fuel economy standards and other energy efficiency incentives to this bill.

Renewable Energy -- We also applaud the increased renewable energy funding and the inclusion of a renewable energy standard in the Daschle-Bingaman bill. However, the renewable energy standard requires only half of the renewable energy generation deemed cost-effective by the Bush Energy Information Administration. Increasing efficiency and diversifying our energy sources will make our energy infrastructure more resilient and less vulnerable to disruption. Clean, renewable energy such as wind, geothermal and solar energy is becoming increasingly cost-competitive, and can help protect consumers against fluctuating fossil fuel prices. Senators Daschle and Bingaman should increase the renewable standards so that 20% of our power comes from clean renewable sources, by 2020.

Nuclear Subsidies -- We are disappointed to see that this legislation authorizes wasteful nuclear research programs and indefinitely re-authorizes the unfair subsidy to Department of Energy nuclear contractors known as the Price Anderson Act. Under current law, the Act indemnifies DOE contractors from public liability in case of a nuclear accident. This means that taxpayers would pay damages to the public in case of a nuclear accident caused by a contractor, even in cases where the contractor was grossly negligent. To add insult to injury, this legislation extends Price Anderson coverage indefinitely, instead of allowing Congress to renew the Act every fifteen years. It's time for the nuclear industry to stand on its own two feet and be held accountable for wrongdoing. Price Anderson should not be re-authorized.

We urge Senators Daschle and Bingaman to improve this legislation to ensure that Americans can enjoy a smarter, cleaner energy future.

U.S PIRG is the national lobby office for the state Public Interest Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit nonpartisan public interest advocacy organizations active across the country.