Bill praised by veterans and former CIA Director R. James Woolsey
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today announced the introduction of landmark legislation to dramatically overhaul the type and quantity of fuel used by the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy.
“Each day, the U.S. military consumes nearly 400,000 barrels of fuel. In Iraq and Afghanistan, that amounts to nearly 68 million gallons of fuel a month,” Giffords said today at a press conference that was attended by R. James Woolsey, an expert on national security who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Our enemies are critically aware of our reliance on oil, and they are using it to their advantage,” the congresswoman said. “Instead of fighting the enemy, thousands of service members are dedicated to securing supply lines so that fuel can reach forward operating bases and far-reaching outposts.”
In 2007, Giffords said, 170 service members tragically lost their lives in attacks on fuel convoys and during an average month in 2008, 220,000 gallons of fuel were lost to ambushes, attacks and accidents.
“Prudence dictates we take bold action,” said Giffords, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Giffords’ groundbreaking 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 accelerating the production of biofuels for aviation and promoting large-scale renewable energy projects at defense facilities.
The bill also mandates studying the integration of hybrid technology into tactical vehicles and requires the department to derive 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
The Department of Defense Energy Security Act is already earning praise from veterans and national security experts.
“Reducing our military’s fuel consumption saves American lives,” said Cole Hickman of Tempe, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve. While serving in Iraq, Hickman was part of the operations sections for a unit that carried fuel, food and other supplies to Coalition Forces. “Fewer convoys on the road carrying fuel means fewer targets and more American troops coming home. This bill makes America and our troops more secure, and we save money doing it. Efficiency is a force multiplier.”
Woolsey, who recently wrote about the need to diversify our nation’s energy portfolio in a guest opinion published in the Wall Street Journal, thanked Giffords for her leadership on this important issue. “Since her first day in Congress, Congresswoman Giffords has established herself as a champion of responsible renewable energy,” he said at this morning’s Capitol Hill press conference. “She not only talks the talk, she walks the walk.”
Noting that eight of the nine largest oil exporters in the world are dictatorships, Woolsey said Giffords’ bill will help establish “greater resilience” in our energy supply.
Also in attendance was Dr. Charles Ebinger, the director of energy security research at the Brookings Institution.
“We want to thank you very much for this courageous legislation,” he told the congresswoman. “The urgency of these issues has done nothing but grow.”
The introduction of the Department of Defense Energy Security Act comes as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is spurring greater interest in alternative fuel at the Pentagon. As Air Force Colonel Francis Rechner, director of operations of the Defense Energy Support Center, told Reuters recently, the long-term goal is to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign crude oil.
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.
At the press conference, Giffords said her bill will address energy supply and use at the Defense Department both in theater and at home. She said it decreases consumption by integrating hybrid and high efficiency technology into both the tactical and non-tactical vehicle fleet and would replace the vast fleet of sedans, buses and trucks with hybrid and electric alternatives that are currently available.
The bill has four broad goals:
• Reduce the reliance on oil in the battlefield;
• Task the Department to plan holistically for their energy use;
• Decrease electricity consumption at facilities around the world; and
• Increase the self-reliance of bases by increasing the development of on-site renewable electricity.
This bill requires high efficiency insulation at forward operating facilities that will immediately reduce fuel consumption in theater and could realize a return on investment by the end of this year if implemented today. It also would require energy and water audits and an insulation assessment of domestic facilities and the implementation of cost-saving measures at bases.
Giffords will push for inclusion of her bill next week when the House Armed Services Committee begins consideration of the annual Defense Department authorization legislation.