Energy
Ending our Dependence on Foreign Oil and Investing in Clean Energy
The soaring price of gasoline, home heating oil, and natural gas has placed a heavy burden on working families.
The Bush Administration's mishandling of the war in Iraq has significantly contributed to a major spike in oil prices. When Senator Reed voted against the war in October of 2002, oil cost less than $30 a barrel. In July of 2008, oil costs hit a record high of $146 per barrel and the billions of "petrodollars" being exported out of the U.S. to pay for energy have a very real effect on local economies and our national security.
Senator Reed has sought to protect consumers by decreasing our nation's energy dependence on foreign oil, supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives, and improving access to alternative fuels while rejecting giveaways to big energy companies.
Reed cosponsored a bill to gradually increase fuel efficiency standards, and in December of 2007 he helped pass a landmark energy bill that raises fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks for the first time in thirty-two years. This law also provides incentives for increased efficiency in buildings and homes; improves lighting and appliance efficiency standards; and bars oil companies from engaging in market manipulation by providing false information about prices in the wholesale petroleum markets. If the oil companies are found to have done so, this new law imposes severe new civil and criminal penalties.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Reed has fought to strengthen our nation's investment in alternative energy by working to provide $1.75 billion for the Department of Energy's (DOE) energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) account in the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, an increase of more than 40 percent over the 2007 funding level and the President's budget proposal. He has also voted repeatedly to extend and expand renewable energy production tax credits worth $7 billion and create a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) that requires utilities to purchase 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources, including wind; solar; biomass; and geothermal, by 2020.
To immediately address one of the factors contributing to higher gas prices, Reed cosponsored legislation requiring the Bush Administration to temporarily stop buying oil at inflated prices to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, which was signed into law in May 2008, makes more oil available to the public, putting downward pressure on oil prices.
Reed has been working at the federal level to help consumers and businesses struggling with the rising cost of fuel by cracking down on market manipulation and preventing price distortions that have led to inflated energy prices. He supports the Closing the Enron Loophole Act and succeeded in convincing the Bush Administration to put together a new federal task force to take a closer look at how the energy commodity markets are being manipulated and ferret out unscrupulous and speculative conduct.
Reed also supports efforts to ensure that big oil companies reinvest their windfall profits back into the U.S. economy.
Each year, Reed fights for federal funding so over 30,000 Rhode Islanders can pay their utility bills through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Under Reed's leadership, LIHEAP funding has nearly doubled over the last decade and he has secured over $150 million to help Rhode Islanders heat and cool their homes. Reed has worked to add $1 billion in an additional funding for LIHEAP in a 2008 emergency spending bill which was approved by the Senate.
Reed has also worked hard to bring federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) dollars home to Rhode Island. In 2008, the state received over $1.15 million to help Rhode Islanders insulate their homes and save money over time on their energy bills. This forward-thinking program also makes good environmental sense. We now save more energy each year from energy efficiency than we get from any single energy source, including oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power, reducing pollution from greenhouse gases that lead to global warming. Since the weatherization program began, more than 87,000 Rhode Islanders have benefitted and local consumers have saved over 101 million gallons of heating oil.
Learn more about Senator Reed's recent efforts to curb high energy prices »
Recent News:
Reed and Whitehouse Announce $1.29 Million to Help Rhode Islanders Save on Energy Bills
Reed Announces Rhode Island to Receive Over $38.8 Million in LIHEAP Funds
Reed Announces Nearly $1 Million to Help Generate Student Interest in Alternative Energy
Reed Secures Nearly $1.5 Million to Fuel URI's Alternative Energy Research
Reed Delivers Speech on Energy Security
Reed Urges President Bush to Release Remaining $120 Million in LIHEAP Funding
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Help Lower Gas Prices
Reed Seeks to Address Root Causes of High Gas Prices
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