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Alexander: Family Budgets Hit Hard by $3.73 a Gallon Gasoline; Time for Congress to Act
“Congress should be debating the best ways to achieve American clean energy independence, not sitting on the sidelines while gas prices continue to rise.” – Lamar Alexander
May 13, 2008 - WASHINGTON – Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following statement on the Senate’s failure to pass Senator Pete Domenici’s American Energy Production Act, a bill to address high gasoline and natural gas costs.
“It’s unacceptable that as family budgets are being hit hard by $3.73 a gallon gasoline, the Senate refuses to approve legislation that would make better use of American energy resources and technology. Congress should be debating the best ways to achieve American clean energy independence, not sitting on the sidelines while gas prices continue to rise. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue – all Americans are paying the price at the pump – and that is why I’m calling for a new Manhattan Project for clean energy independence. Congress has supported renewable energy technology and last year passed legislation to increase fuel efficiency standards, but we shouldn’t stop there. We need to focus on America’s energy resources and promote the development of new technologies.”
Chairman Alexander is calling for a “New Manhattan Project for Clean Energy Independence” to focus the nation on meeting America’s fuel demands while freeing the country from reliance on foreign oil. He delivered his proposal in an address at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday, May 9, and at the Brookings Institution on Monday, May 12.
The American Energy Production Act was offered as an amendment to S. 2284, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act. It was defeated on a vote of 42 to 56.
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