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April 13, 2005
Congressman Doyle Offers Energy Independence Amendment to Energy Bill
Washington, DC - April 13, 2005 - U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) announced today that he and Representative Lee Terry (NE-2) added an amendment to the House energy bill that will double federal funding for research on hydrogen fuel cells over the next 5 years.
“The Doyle-Terry amendment will substantially increase the federal investment in hydrogen research and development,” Congressman Doyle said today. “That research will produce more affordable and efficient fuel cells for automobiles, as well as portable and stationary power generators.”
The Doyle-Terry amendment will double federal funding for research and development of hydrogen fuel cells from $1 billion over the next 5 years to $2 billion over that period of time.
“Fuel cell technology has already been proven to work,” Doyle observed. “The federal government should act now to provide the funding necessary to make this technology available to the American consumer. This investment will help break the stranglehold that foreign oil currently has on our nation – and go a long way as well to help America meet the environmental challenges resulting from hydrocarbon emissions.”
“It is critical that our nation invests in emerging technologies like hydrogen fuel cells in order to meet the ever growing demand for energy in America,” Congressman Doyle added. “The path to energy independence is not through short-sighted policies like drilling in the Arctic. The path to energy independence is through American innovation and investment in new technologies. That is why I have been pushing to increase federal support for energy-related research and development, and why I will continue to work toward that end.
The Doyle-Terry amendment was adopted by the full Energy and Commerce Committee during the mark-up of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, legislation to establish a comprehensive national energy policy. This legislation is expected to be approved by the Committee and considered by the full House of Representatives in the near future.
Representatives Doyle and Terry are the founders and co-chairmen of the House Distributed Generation Caucus, an organization dedicated to promoting the generation of electricity at scattered sites across the country rather than at large centralized power plants. The small-scale production of electricity at or near homes and businesses reduces reliance on our overburdened electricity transmission system, provides greater reliability, reduces pollutant emissions from large power plants, helps control energy price fluctuations, and makes electric power markets more competitive, which benefits consumers.
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