109 HRES 971 IH: Expressing the sense of the House of U.S. House of Representatives 2006-07-28 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 971 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 28, 2006 Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should enact legislation to slow, stop, and reverse the growth of the Nation’s dependence on imported oil in ways that provide cleaner air, reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, and enhance America’s competitiveness.

Whereas the United States currently imports nearly 60 percent of the oil it needs, and the energy security of the United States is threatened by excessive reliance for oil on countries that are unstable or hostile to United States national interests; Whereas, recognizing this problem, the President said in his 2006 State of the Union Address to the Nation that America is addicted to oil; Whereas the transportation sector accounts for nearly two thirds of oil the United States consumes, and oil is nearly the sole fuel that enables transportation to exist; with over 97 percent of all cars, trucks, trains, marine vehicles, and air transport powered by fuels derived from oil; Whereas the United States oil demand is expected to rise by more than 50 percent in the next 20 years, fueled largely by the increasing oil demand of the transportation sector, with much of the increase likely to be satisfied by more imported oil, while developing countries are importing oil at escalating rates, including China which is expected soon to surpass the United States in volume of imported oil, exacerbating the increasing competition between the 2 nations over world oil resources; Whereas the United States possesses the technological means to dramatically reduce the Nation’s dependence on imported oil and improve national security, including— (1)displacing oil with biobased fuels, which can now be produced from sugar-rich crops like corn and sugar cane, but could soon be produced in large quantities from crop waste, wood chips, switch grass, and other energy crops grown by the American farm sector; (2)displacing oil with electricity generated from clean, domestic sources of power, including wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen fuel, for use in battery-powered or hybrid electric vehicles; (3)enhancing existing domestic oil production by injected carbon dioxide captured from the utilization of coal into aging oil wells; and (4)improving fuel efficiency through increased use of strong, lightweight materials, hybrid drive, and other advanced engine and transmission technology, and better aerodynamic designs; Whereas improving the Nation’s energy security by deploying such technologies could also benefit the environment; Whereas deploying modern tools to improve regional transportation planning, including the use of smart transit, efficient rail technologies, and intelligent systems for managing travel demand, could reduce energy demand, curb emissions of carbon dioxide, and also help protect open space; Whereas providing incentives to individuals and businesses to improve energy conservation could reduce our reliance on imported oil and reduce carbon dioxide and other air pollution; Whereas concern over energy prices, oil security, and the environment are creating a worldwide demand for alternatives to oil, and American industry has a long history of innovation and has an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by filling the demand for alternative forms of energy and low-pollution technologies; and Whereas market-based approaches to achieve greater energy security will lower costs and spur innovation: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should enact legislation to slow, stop, and reverse the growth of the Nation’s dependence on imported oil in ways that provide cleaner air, reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, and enhance America’s competitiveness.