WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) announced her support for the Pickens Energy Independence Pledge. The pledge calls for the new administration and the new Congress to "enact an energy plan that reduces our foreign oil dependence by at least 30% within ten years…within the first 100 days of the new administration."

Rep. Boyda said, “T. Boone Pickens has presented a practical solution to our growing energy crisis and is motivating people around the country. I am honored to join this pledge and move our energy debate forward.”

T. Boone Pickens praised Boyda for joining the pledge. "Congresswoman Boyda is showing real leadership on a critical issue," Pickens said. "I salute her for joining me in urging the next administration in Washington – whoever it is – to make reducing our depending on foreign oil an absolute priority."

The pledge is a part of a national movement by Pickens to give Americans the ability to demand a national energy policy that would reduce our country’s need to spend $700 billion dollars annually on foreign oil.

In July, 2008, T. Boone Pickens unveiled a comprehensive solution for ending our nation’s growing dependence on foreign oil. The Pickens Plan (www.PickensPlan.com) recommends investing in power generation from domestic renewable resources such as wind and using America’s plentiful supply of natural gas as a transportation fuel. This action would not only reduce our dependence on imported oil by 33%, it would save the United States more than $230 billion a year.

Rep. Boyda is one of 17 Members of Congress to support Pickens’ Energy Independence Pledge. Boyda said, “Kansas is a powerhouse of renewable and carbon neutral energy potential. Biofuels, hydrogen, wind and solar energy and even existing nuclear power all reside within the state. The cost of oil has tripled this decade; gas prices have more than doubled during the Bush Administration. It’s time, now, to set partisan politics aside and, for the good of Kansas families, businesses, and producers, finally get the job done.”