U.S.
Senator Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees |
||
|
||
For Immediate
Release May 4, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
|
Washington, D.C. – Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce two bills aimed at addressing America’s energy crisis with practical, long term solutions, not political pandering. “Washington has chosen to ignore this issue for the entire year,” Sen. Salazar said. “It is time for Congress to get real and realize that we have to commit ourselves to a long term strategy to reduce our dependence on oil – especially foreign oil – by increasing our energy efficiency and by developing alternative fuels that we can produce here at home, including ethanol and bio-diesel. To come together in the bipartisan way we have today will hopefully push the Senate into enacting real solutions to help us achieve our energy independence.” The bipartisan group, including Senators Salazar, Bingaman (D-NM), Chafee (R-RI), Lieberman (D-CT), Coleman (R-MN) and Cantwell (D-WA), introduced two bills, the Enhanced Energy Security Act of 2006 and an Energy Tax bill. The “Enhanced Energy Security Act of 2006” will push the federal government to save 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2016 and at least 10 million barrels per day by 2031. The bill also includes provisions to:
The Energy Tax bill provides multiple incentives to manufacturers, businesses and consumers to utilize energy efficient alternatives. The bill includes provisions to:
“If we had remained focused on energy independence since the Arab Oil Embargo, more than 30 years ago, we would not be caught in this crisis today,” Salazar added. “Unless we develop and stick to the cause of energy independence, we will continue to place our national security in jeopardy and suffer from current price peaks to a greater and greater extent, more and more frequently, over the next 30 years. It is time for Congress to get real and get to work.” ###
|
||