Doolittle Helps Advance Energy Legislation
Hydrogen Research Incentives Created, Natural Gas Ban Lifted
May 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,
House Republican Conference Secretary John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville) voted
to pass two legislative measures aiming to satisfy America’s short-term and
long-term energy needs. The House of Representatives passed legislation
co-sponsored by Doolittle to stimulate the development of hydrogen as a
practical alternative fuel to oil. Also, the House Appropriations Committee,
of which Doolittle is a member, approved an amendment to the Fiscal Year
2007 Interior spending bill that would lift a 25-year-old congressional ban
on offshore natural gas exploration.
“We must take decisive action to ensure that the United States has a
reliable supply of energy now and in the future,” said Doolittle. “I am
confident that hydrogen fuel technology will help power America into the
next generation. In the mean time, we must take full advantage of our
existing supplies of clean natural gas.”
The House voted 416 to 6 to pass H.R. 5143, the H – Prize Act of 2006. This
bill establishes a prize competition to encourage the development of
breakthrough technologies that would hasten the use of hydrogen as a
significant fuel source. The H-Prize, modeled after the successful Ansari X
Prize which spurred the first privately funded suborbital human spaceflight
last year, would help overcome technical challenges related to hydrogen by
offering prizes in the following three categories:
-
Technological Advancements – four $1 million prizes
awarded biennially in the categories of hydrogen production, storage,
distribution and utilization;
-
Prototypes – one $4 million prize awarded biennially
for the creation of a working hydrogen vehicle prototype; and
-
Transformational Technologies – one grand prize
consisting of a $10 million federal contribution and a goal of at least
$40 million in additional private matching funds would be awarded for
development of wells-to-wheels breakthrough technologies.
“The H-Prize will stimulate private sector competition
to knock down technological barriers in making the hydrogen economy a
reality.” Doolittle stated. “Hydrogen is the wave of the future and this
legislation is designed to provide results-based financial incentives to
bring about that future.”
Also today, the House Appropriations Committee voted 37-25 in support of an
amendment offered by Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) to the FY07 Interior
Appropriations Bill that would lift a congressional moratorium on natural
gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) beyond 20 miles
offshore. The amendment would not affect a separate federal ban on offshore
oil production.
“American’s suffer from the highest natural gas prices in the world,”
Doolittle stated. “By opening the OCS to natural gas production, U.S.
businesses and consumers will reap the enormous benefits of reducing our
reliance on foreign sources of energy.”
U.S. Rep. John T. Doolittle has served in the House of Representatives since 1991. As Secretary of the House Republican Conference, he is an elected member of the House Republican Leadership. Doolittle represents California’s 4th Congressional District and serves on the Appropriations Committee, Energy and Water, Agriculture, and Interior Subcommittees, and the House Administration Committee. |