My Comprehensive Energy Plan
The dramatic increase in gas prices this year has hit all Hoosiers very hard. It is clearer than ever before that our country needs a comprehensive energy policy that aims to lower gas prices at the pump right now and sets a course to energy independence over the long term.
That is why I believe a new comprehensive energy policy for America must include both short-term relief and long-term solutions.
Short-Term Relief
- Crack down on gasoline price gouging and oil speculators who drive up the price at the pump.
- I helped introduce H.R. 1252, The Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act, which authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and punish those who artificially inflate the price of gasoline. The bill sets tough criminal penalties for price gouging and permits states to bring lawsuits against wholesalers or retailers who engage in such practices. H.R. 1252 passed the House on May 23, 2007 but is still pending in the Senate.
- I am also an original co-sponsor of H.R. 6330, The Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act. This bill aims to rein in oil speculators by requiring off-market traders to play by the same rules as traders that participate in on-market trading.
- Suspend oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and put that oil on the market to help reduce gas prices.
- Release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to increase domestic supply and help reduce gas prices.
- In my letter to the president, I asked that he release a steady supply of oil from the SPR to increase domestic supply, which would in turn lower gas prices. This request is now building momentum, with many of my congressional colleagues recommending the same action.
- In his recent testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, of which I am a member, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified that any additional amount of oil on the market would affect prices and that a 1 percent increase in supply could result in as much as a 10-percent drop in oil prices.
- Put money back in the pockets of those who are being hit the hardest by high gas prices.
- I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 3715, The Rural Commuters Relief Act, which would provide a $100 tax deduction to individuals for every month that the average price of a gallon of gas is at least $3 per gallon if the individuals live in rural areas and commute over 30 miles daily to their places of employment. This tax deduction could be claimed regardless of whether the commuters itemize their tax returns.
- I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 6287, The Veterans Travel Equity Act, which ties mileage reimbursement for veterans traveling to a VA medical appointment to the rate federal workers get, which is currently 58.5 cents per mile. Prior to February, veterans received just 11 cents per mile, a rate that was set back in 1978. This issue is of added importance to Indiana’s second district, where veterans often have to travel hours to the nearest VA hospital.
Long-Term Solutions
- Invest in renewable energy sources like wind, solar, hydroelectric and bio-fuels.
- I voted for H.R. 6, The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which created the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS requires that utility companies gradually increase the amount of electricity generated through the use of renewable energy resources such as wind, hydro, solar, and ethanol/bio-fuels. The initial requirement, in year 2010, is 2.75 percent of a utility’s electricity. This requirement gradually increases to 15 percent by 2020.
- I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 5437, The American-Made Energy Act. This legislation would extend and expand tax credits for the development of biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, and the installation and use of solar and fuel cell technologies for business and residential use.
- As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I helped pass H.R. 2419, The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, which increases funding for research on renewable fuels, feedstocks, and energy efficiency. It also creates a program to improve research on the production and sustainability of biofuels and their input.
- Promote conservation and energy-efficiency technologies and infrastructure.
- The American-Made Energy Act would provide grants to build cellulosic biomass ethanol plants and authorize cellulosic facilities for bonus depreciation.
- I introduced H.R. 2505, The E-85 PUMP Act, which, in part, prohibits big oil companies from restricting the right of their franchisees from selling E-85. This part of my bill was signed into law on December 19, 2007, along with the rest of H.R. 6, The Energy Independence and Security Act.
- H.R. 6 also increased the national Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. This is the first fuel economy standard increase backed by Congress since 1975.
- Encourage greater use of safe nuclear power.
- The American-Made Energy Act would support nuclear energy by creating an investment tax credit to build new nuclear facilities and authorize a 40-percent share of electricity generated from nuclear plants by the year 2050.
- Expand domestic production and exploration for oil and gas.
- The American-Made Energy Act would open the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to environmentally-responsible oil and gas exploration. It also would encourage further construction of domestic refineries by extending tax depreciation for new refinery construction.
- Invest in Indiana’s most plentiful source of energy: coal and clean coal technologies.
- The American-Made Energy Act would promote coal-to-liquid fuel production by expanding tax credits for projects that demonstrate significant carbon-capture and sequestration capabilities.
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