"The difficult we do at once; the impossible takes a little longer."-US military saying.

Our country's dependence on oil is a threat to our national security, a hazard to our environment, and a burden to the millions of Americans who are struggling to fill the tank.  We must take steps to get on a path to energy independence, while finding ways to give Americans relief from high prices.

Our current energy crisis didn't happen overnight; it took 30 years of neglect, inadequate planning, and unwise decisions.  The solution is not to be found in any single policy option.  This crisis presents a challenge as difficult as our effort to reach the moon. Since 2006 I have been calling for an Apollo-type program for energy, to launch us into the next era of energy research and production.  On May 21, 2007, I voted to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (HR 364), signed into law on August 9, 2008 (as part of the America COMPETES Act), with the goal of reducing foreign energy imports by 20% in 10 years.  This is a good start, but we need the national commitment to an Apollo-type program. 

Oil is a limited commodity.  Drilling our way to energy independence is not a viable solution because we simply don't have enough domestic oil.  We hold only about 3% of the world's oil reserves, and yet with only 4% of the world's population, we use 25% of the world's supply!  We currently import nearly 70% of our oil, up from 24% in 1973.  The numbers speak for themselves.  As T. Boone Pickens, multi-billionaire oilman and CEO of BP Capital says, we simply can't drill our way out of our nation's energy crisis.

Big Oil and others keep claiming that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is the answer, but there is no telling how long it might take for production to begin.  Even the Bush Administration has estimated that it would take at least ten years.  The Department of Energy has also estimated that it would take until 2027 for any impact on gas prices to be seen from drilling in ANWR and that it would only amount to a few cents per gallon. 

Fortunately, our choice is not limited to drilling or doing nothing. In passing the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act (HR 6899), which passed the House on September 16, 2008, we took steps to ensure immediate relief from high prices, while investing in new technologies to set our nation on a direct path to energy independence. This bill will increase domestic oil production, expand renewable energy, and end subsidies to big oil companies.

The Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act will:

•  increase domestic drilling;
• release nearly 10% of the oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; 
• create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs;
• promote renewable energy;
• extend crucial tax cuts to companies that produce solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydro, landfill and solid waste energy; and
• provide incentives, grants and tax cuts for fuel efficient vehicles, homes, and buildings.

In addition to increasing drilling, opening the Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserve is the surest, short-term way to lower prices at the pump today.  There are more than 700 million barrels of oil stored for emergency use. Although this is not a long-term solution, tapping the reserve would provide Americans immediate relief in less than two weeks.

We must work together to produce clean, alternative and renewable energy. Oil is a finite resource-and so it is through green technology that we will be become truly energy independent. Use of renewable energy sources will reduce the damage to our environment from greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and other climate change.  Wind power, solar energy, American-grown biofuels, natural gas, and energy-efficient vehicles (and other devices) must all be part of our future.  This would not only benefit the environment, but our economy as well. 

My Amendment to the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (HR 3101) takes a small step in that direction by broadening the definition of bio-based fuels, an alternative energy source, to include home heating oil produced by biomass.  This technology is currently being tested in New Hampshire.  The language was included in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (HR 2419), enacted into law on May 22, 2008 over the President's veto.

We must also curb energy speculation. Economists estimate that speculation inflates oil prices anywhere from $20 to $60 a barrel. This is unacceptable.  We need to ensure that speculators' activities are transparent starting today.  American consumers must also be protected from market manipulation.  I voted for the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act (HR 6604), which takes steps to curb excessive speculation in the energy futures markets.  The bill passed the House on September 18, 2008, and now goes to the Senate.

In 2007, we had already started on a path to promote conservation and energy efficiency, and the new Energy bill adds to that. Congress passed the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), which was signed into law last year on December 19, 2007, requiring the first new fuel efficiency standards in 32 years.  This alone will save consumers up to $1,000 in gas per car per year and reduce American consumption by more than 4 million barrels per day, one quarter of our consumption. 

It's important to emphasize that our nation's energy crisis was 30 years in the making.  We have a lot of catching-up to do.  That is why I believe we must enact into law our new Energy bill-to expand domestic drilling, open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and develop clean, renewable energy.  Our new bill to rein in speculators will also help control prices. And investing in an Apollo program for energy, as I've been calling for, will set us on the road to energy independence. It is our patriotic duty to break our dependence on oil with conservation, energy efficiency, and the development of long-term, renewable energy sources.