Reports
A New Direction for American Energy
09/05/2008
Americans are demanding a comprehensive energy policy that frees us from foreign oil. Energy independence means increasing our domestic supply, improving efficiency, greening our infrastructure, and launching a cleaner, renewable energy revolution … creating hundreds of thousands of new green jobs, lowering costs, making America more secure, and reducing global warming.
The New Direction Congress supports an energy policy which includes new responsible domestic drilling—including new leasing and drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf, with appropriate safeguards, and without taxpayer-financed royalty holidays and unneeded subsidies for oil and gas companies earning historic corporate profits.
TO INCREASE SUPPLY
- Extend renewable energy tax credits for American:
- Wind
- Solar
- Geothermal
- Biomass
- Expand American-grown biofuels
- Require and promote energy-efficient:
- Vehicles
- Buildings
- Homes and appliances
- Infrastructure
- Require responsible domestic drilling
- Reward conservation
- Require a renewable electricity standard
- Increase the use of clean natural gas
- Pursue carbon sequestration technology for coal
- Build a smart, reliable electricity grid
TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE RELIEF
Release some oil from taxpayer-funded Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- Help Americans struggling with high prices (Recovery Rebates, LIHEAP)
- Crack down on:
- Price-gouging
- Oil cartel price-fixing
- Further close the Enron loophole on Wall Street speculators
- Reduce transit fares, expand service
TO EXPAND OUR ECONOMY
- Boost American energy innovation and research
- Train a ‘green collar workforce’ for high-paying jobs
- Lower costs for families and businesses
- Reinvest billions of dollars owed by the oil industry in royalties into clean, renewable energy resources
GOP PLAN: “NONE OF THE ABOVE”
On the most important renewable energy vote of this year, Senator John McCain did not show up. It lost by one vote.But time and again, Congressional Republicans have voted against efforts to expand domestic drilling, to release oil from the nation’s stockpile to bring down the price at the pump, to invest in clean energy alternatives, and to protect consumers from price exploitation.
In fact, a majority of Congressional Republicans have voted:
- NO to renewable energy
- NO to the first new vehicle efficiency standards in 32 years—saving $1,000 in fuel costs per car, per year
- NO to reducing transit fares for commuter rail and buses
- NO to recouping royalties the oil companies failed to pay to taxpayers
- NO to repealing unnecessary taxpayer-financed subsidies for the top five oil companies earning historic profits
- NO to expanded drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska
- NO to requiring oil companies to drill on 68 million acres they already control nationwide
- NO to lowering gas prices immediately by releasing a small portion of the government oil stockpile
- NO to cracking down on gas price-gouging
- NO to curbing excessive speculation in the energy futures markets
QUICK FACTS
Wind power, when connected through a national grid, could provide at least 1/3 of our total electricity needs.
Solar thermal power, which uses solar energy to drive turbines – deployed in a small area in the Southwest – could supply America’s entire electricity supply.
The average commuter can save $8,000 a year riding public transit, based on today’s gas prices.
Investment in a clean and efficient economy means more than 3 million new green jobs, $1.4 trillion in new GDP, billions more in personal income and retail sales, and $284 billion in net energy savings – generating returns to the U.S. treasury to pay for itself over 10 years.
America’s dependence on foreign oil has increased by 753 million barrels per year under the Bush‐Cheney energy policy, resulting in U.S. reliance on foreign sources for 66% of U.S. oil consumption, including countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
President Bush himself ran Arbusto Energy/Bush Exploration Oil Company in Texas. Vice President Cheney is the Former CEO of Halliburton, the world’s largest oil field services company. Almost two‐thirds (31 of 48) of the Bush Department of Energy transition team, worked for the energy industry.
Even as they take in record profits, Big Oil is set to receive $27 billion in taxpayer subsidies from 2006‐2010, including royalty relief, expensing of intangible drilling costs, and accelerated amortization of geological and geophysical expenses.