ContactsNewark Office Camden Office Washington, DC 
|
A New Energy FutureSenator Lautenberg believes that it is vital to our economy, environment and national security that we end our addiction to oil and transition to clean energy sources. This will reduce costs to consumers, improve our environment and create jobs. Senator Lautenberg has consistently called for incentives for energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal and has fought the stale energy policies of the Bush Administration that cater to Big Oil instead of offering real solutions to our country’s energy woes. Senator Lautenberg is well-positioned in the Senate to advocate for a smarter energy policy. He serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, including its Energy and Water Subcommittee, which is responsible for providing federal funding for alternative energies. Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources Senator Lautenberg has been a champion for extending crucial tax credits and incentives that help consumers and businesses install and utilize energy from solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable sources. This not only will help reduce utility bills, but it will reduce the need to burn coal and other fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. Senator Lautenberg has also been a strong supporter of biofuels, particularly next-generation cellulosic ethanol, to help us transition away from oil. Our nation’s reliance on oil hurts everyday consumers when price spikes in the energy markets cause higher gas prices. He has consistently supported tax credits for biofuels, as well as mandates that we produce over 16 million gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022. Increasing Energy Efficiency in Vehicles and Buildings With gas prices on the rise, and everyday Americans struggling just to fill their tanks, Senator Lautenberg coauthored a 2007 law that increases the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks so that they can travel further on less gas. This will not only save Americans millions of dollars, but it will reduce our dependence on oil. These fuel efficiency standards – known as “CAFE" standards – had not been increased in decades, and Senator Lautenberg stood strong over the objections of industry to help champion this law to help consumers and pave the way for new technologies. Senator Lautenberg has also been the leading champion on improving mass transit and passenger rail, to offer a cleaner, more fuel-efficient travel option. Senator Lautenberg has also led efforts to make our infrastructure, particularly buildings, more energy-efficient. In fact, he is the author of a new law that will make federal buildings green and provide a blueprint for all buildings across the country. Buildings are responsible for a third of our nation’s greenhouse gases, and the U.S. government is the largest “landlord” in the country. By making the federal government’s new and retrofitted buildings meet “green” standards, the federal government can make a significant dent in the energy consumption of our country, considering that the average green building uses about one-third less energy than a conventional building. Reducing Oil and Gas Prices While Senator Lautenberg believes the long-term solution to erratic and increasing oil and gas prices lies in alternative energy sources, he is working to reduce oil and gas prices in the short-term. Senator Lautenberg has coauthored legislation to end the rampant energy market speculation that has driven up the price of oil and to break up the illegal OPEC cartel that puts quotas on production and fixes the price of oil. He has fought against special interests and Big Oil in proposing to eliminate billions in tax breaks for oil companies and instead invest in renewable energy and help consumers, and to force oil companies to utilize the over 68 million acres for drilling that they now lease but lie dormant, or else turn that land back over to the government (“use it or lose it”). And he believes that instead of convening a secret energy task force behind closed doors between energy companies and Vice President Cheney to write our nation’s energy laws, the Administration should work with Congress to create sensible energy policies that benefit the American public first and foremost.
|
 |