As a Member of the United States House of Representatives, I take pride in keeping residents up-to-date on the issues facing our nation. This is why I believe it is vital for me to regularly send out email newsletters to help keep you informed of my work in Congress. These newsletters cover all topics including: our nation's energy crisis, education, agriculture, veteran’s affairs, as well as the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I am writing to inform you that due to rules within the U.S. House of Representatives concerning communication during an election year there will be a blackout period in which I will be limited in the ways that I can communicate with you.
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I am also writing to tell you about comprehensive legislation I recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to put America on a path towards energy independence.
Across the country, Americans are paying the price for a failed energy policy, and rising gas prices are particularly hurting Arkansas's working families, seniors and businesses. I believe that America needs a new direction on its energy policy and in order to accomplish this, I have introduced the American Made Energy Act of 2008, HR 5437, to increase our nation’s energy supplies, invest in alternative and renewable energy and protect our environment.
Specifically, my legislation will enable our country to access more of our domestic energy resources and will reinvest the lease and royalty revenue from the sale of the oil and gas into alternative energy sources like cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind, and hydropower. It will also support and encourage the use of cutting edge technologies that will utilize domestic energy sources such as clean coal technology and nuclear energy. Our country can no longer depend on foreign governments to supply our energy needs and my legislation will ensure that we begin investing in America again.
Opening up our domestic resources for energy exploration in places like the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), as my bill does, is a way to increase our energy supply and bring down the cost of fuel in the short term, while supporting alternative and renewable fuels to wean ourselves off oil in the long term.
My bill requires the most modern technology to drill in the most environmentally friendly manner possible. It sets the strictest environmental standards and conditions for this energy development under a no significant adverse effect standard using the best technology available. It also requires that all Federal and State environmental laws are complied with, along with a host of other measures to protect the environment.
Our current energy policies in this country simply do not make sense and are outdated. For example, Cuba is drilling for oil today 55 miles closer to America’s coast than we currently allow, with a third of the environmental standards that we require.
When President Kennedy said we would put a man on the moon, it took a major investment - $90 billion in today's dollars. In comparison, we are only spending $3.8 billion this year to reduce our dependence on oil. This is equivalent to what our nation spends in 10 days in Iraq. We must invest in the innovation and technology that can produce environmentally friendly alternatives without borrowing the money from China and elsewhere. My bill does this by generating $80 billion in revenue from domestic oil and gas exploration so we can finally wean our country off oil.
However, the oil provisions are just one part of a comprehensive plan to make our nation less dependent on foreign oil and put us on a path towards energy independence. My goal is to move away from oil and begin investing more in alternative energy sources such as cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, solar, wind, nuclear, and hydropower, as well as hydrogen fuel cells and the use of agricultural waste for renewable electricity.
I want to develop ways to make coal a cleaner energy source. That is why I provide tax credits for the creation of carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects. These funds will be awarded to advanced coal projects which can demonstrate that they would capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions, with the highest priority going to applicants that demonstrate the greatest capture and sequestration percent of total carbon dioxide emissions.
This bill also supports energy efficiency and conservation by extending tax credits for energy efficient homes, buildings, and the installation of solar and wind property. It also provides a consumer tax credit for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles and flex fuel vehicles.
My bill is focused on making our country less dependent on sources of energy from countries that put our national security at risk by developing new technologies here at home to create new American jobs, spur our economy, and reduce the price we pay at the pump.
However, I also believe that we must do more to stop global warming. I believe that global warming is real and that we must enact policies based on sound science to combat its harmful effects on our environment. Last year, as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I helped draft and pass landmark energy legislation which helped to combat global warming. The Energy Independence and Security Act, which was signed into law on December 19, 2007, makes the largest investment in homegrown biofuels in history and supports vital research and development of new technologies to bring down energy costs and help create new jobs.
In addition, it sets higher fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks by law for the first time in 32 years and requires the production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, close to a fivefold increase from current ethanol production levels. In fact, the efficiency provisions in that bill alone will reduce carbon dioxide emissions equal to taking all the cars in America today off the road for a year!
Last year’s legislation was a step in the right direction. However, I believe that much more can be done to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions and protect our environment. One way to accomplish this is through the use of clean energy sources like nuclear power. I believe that nuclear energy, when done properly, will provide a safe and clean source of energy in the future as it does in some areas today. If America wants to get serious about slowing climate change and reducing our carbon dioxide emissions, we must get serious about nuclear energy. My bill creates an investment tax credit to help build new nuclear facilities and sets a goal of producing 40 percent of our nation’s electricity from nuclear power by the year 2050.
Combined with the emphasis my legisaltion place on nuclear energy, my bill supports the development of other renewable electricity sources such as agricultural waste, forest products, wind, solar, and hydropower. As our nation’s demand for electricity continues to rise, we must begin investing in alternative and renewable sources of power to bring the high cost of electricity down for consumers. Electricity demand in the U.S. is projected to increase 45 percent by the year 2030. This increase in demand requires that we increase our electricity supply to meet energy demands and lower costs. My bill accomplishes this by supporting the development of all alternative and renewable sources of electricity production, including clean coal and nuclear power.
I truly believe my legislation is a common sense approach to solving our nation’s energy crisis. By investing in domestic and home-grown energy innovations, increasing domestic production, and conserving our resources, we can take our country in the right direction, one that leads to energy independence, a cleaner environment, and lower energy prices for all Americans.
