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U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release Thursday, August 7, 2008 |
CONTACT:Michael Amodeo – 303-249-5286 |
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| Sen. Salazar's Statement on EPA's Decision to Uphold Renewable Fuels Standard
DENVER, CO – United States Senator Ken Salazar issued the following statement in response to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s announcement today that he has denied a request by the Governor of Texas to reduce the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Senator Salazar, along with several of his colleagues, wrote to Administrator Johnson on May 6, 2008, urging him to deny Governor Perry’s waiver request, which was based on the erroneous claim that the RFS is harming the U.S. economy. Sen. Salazar’s letter can be found here. “Today’s announcement that the EPA will uphold the renewable fuels standard is good news for our energy future,” said Sen. Salazar. “The EPA’s findings reaffirm that renewable fuels are vital to our energy security, our environmental security and our economic security. This decision sends the right signal to farmers, ranchers, investors, and small business owners across Colorado that the United States is serious about growing our way to energy independence.” Senator Salazar helped establish the RFS in the 2005 Energy Policy Act and was instrumental in increasing the RFS in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The 2007 quintupled the previous RFS to 36 billion gallons by 2022, 21 billion of which must be advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic biofuels. That is enough to eventually offset our imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Libya combined. Rising domestic ethanol production is keeping gasoline and oil prices lower than they otherwise would be, thereby saving the average American household as much as $500 a year in lower transportation costs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
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