Comprehensive Energy Policy Passes House

November 18, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas) voted today to approve the first comprehensive energy policy to pass Congress in nearly a decade. The Energy Policy Act Conference Report, H.R. 6, was approved with strong bipartisan support, 246-180.

"For far too long, this country has gone without an energy policy that decreases our dependence on foreign energy sources, while securing a safe, clean, and reliable energy supply," Dreier said. "This bipartisan agreement will help both our economic and national security situations by creating jobs and maximizing energy resources here at home."

The Energy Policy Act of 2003 focuses its conservation and efficiency efforts on energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and clean coal technologies. The bill requires a 20 percent reduction in Federal building energy use by 2013, provides funding for energy efficiency programs for public buildings, and increases fuel efficiency requirements for Federal vehicles. It also directs the Federal government to use more renewable energy, with a goal of using 7.5 percent more by 2011.

The bill also includes initiatives that will make vehicles and automobiles more energy efficient. It authorizes $200 million for an advanced vehicle program that will provide grants to state and local governments to acquire alternative fueled and fuel cell vehicles, hybrids and other vehicles. It also launches a state-of-the-art program to get hydrogen-powered automobiles on the road by 2020, as well as necessary infrastructure to provide for the safe delivery of hydrogen fuels.

Dreier noted that the bill includes an important, immediate waiver for California from the oxygenate mandate, which allows the State to meet federal Clean Air Act standards without methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE), a harmful contaminant polluting our groundwater. Under the federal waiver included in this legislation, California can move toward enforcement of the existing ban swiftly, avoid price spikes at the gasoline pump, and still protect our environment.

"Protecting our environment and our natural resources is a critical goal of this legislation," Dreier said. "Smarter, more efficient energy policy will benefit us all in a myriad of ways. I commend my colleagues who have worked long and hard to make this bill a reality."