Congresswoman will be joined by former CIA Director R. James Woolsey
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Wednesday will introduce legislation aimed at a sweeping overhaul of petroleum usage at the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy.
The Arizona lawmaker, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, will be joined by R. James Woolsey, a national security expert who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Energy security is national security,” said Giffords, whose congressional district includes Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. “Our nation has become far too reliant on foreign energy sources that are unfriendly or hostile to our interests. Every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, our enemies seize on the opportunity to attack fuel convoys and kill Americans. We need bold, decisive action to take service members out of harm’s way and reduce the 395,000 barrels of fuel the Department of Defense uses every single day.”
Giffords’ bill, the Department of Defense Energy Security Act, would increase the safety of our men and women on the front lines and help reduce the Pentagon’s $20 billion annual fuel bill through a number of specific steps. Among them is requiring the use of hybrid technology for tactical vehicles, accelerating the production of biofuels for aviation and promoting large-scale renewable energy projects at defense facilities.
The bill also would require the department to derive a quarter of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
The Department of Defense Energy Security Act stems from a report by the Government Accountability Office that highlighted the threats to our troops posed by transporting fuel to the front lines. The report found that the Defense Department “lacks an effective approach for implementing fuel reduction initiatives” at its forward-deployed locations.
Woolsey, a supporter of Giffords’ bill, has become a champion of a diversified energy portfolio since leaving the CIA. He made his case most recently in a guest opinion published April 15 in the Wall Street Journal.
“Oil profits enhance the ability of dictators and autocrats to dominate their people,” he wrote. “This is one reason that eight of the top nine oil exporters (Norway is the exception) are dictatorships or autocratic kingdoms, as are virtually all of the 22 states that depend on oil and gas for at least two-thirds of their exports.”
WHO: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and former CIA Director R. James Woolsey
WHAT: Introduction of the Department of Defense Energy Security Act
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 12
WHERE: 2216 Rayburn House Office Building