[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7243-S7244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 1169. A bill to decrease the United States dependence on imported 
oil by the year 2015; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to introduce 
legislation that would reduce our Nation's dependence on imported oil. 
Last year, Senator Carper and I introduced this legislation as an 
amendment to the energy bill and I offer it today to begin a debate and 
dialogue in the Senate about the merits of this goal.
  During last year's energy bill consideration, I joined over 60 of my 
colleagues in voting for the Levin-Bond

[[Page S7244]]

amendment regarding the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for 
cars, SUV's, and light trucks. Given the instability in the Middle East 
and our Nation's reliance on foreign oil, Senator Carper and I offered 
additional language to slow the growth of our dependency on oil in a 
measurable way on the energy bill.
  I supported the Levin-Bond amendment because, among other things, it 
would have invested Federal dollars in research and development of 
advanced technology vehicles. It would have harnessed the power of 
government to purchase and commercialize hybrid and fuel cell-powered 
vehicles. I also supported the amendment's accompanying tax incentives, 
which would further encourage the production and purchase of advanced, 
fuel-efficient vehicles.
  However, the Levin-Bond amendment fell short in one important area - 
it did not include a clear, measurable objective for oil savings. The 
issue is not just the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency, CAFE, or Miles 
Per Gallon, MPG,--rather it is oil and our growing dependence on 
imports for 56 percent of what we use. The bill I am introducing today 
would implement the Levin-Bond requirement that the Secretary of 
Transportation issue new regulations setting forth increased average 
fuel economy standards and further require that the Secretary of 
Transportation issue regulations to reduce the amount of oil consumed 
in our passenger cars and light trucks in 2015 by 1,000,000 barrels per 
day compared to consumption without such regulations in place.
  Federal research has identified promising fuel technologies, 
including fuels developed from biomass, coal waste, and other sources 
that could play a role in reducing our dependence on traditional, 
foreign crude oil and facilitate a transition to advanced fuels. For 
example, one important effort that is happening in Pennsylvania 
involves a recent $100 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to build 
the first U.S. coal-waste-to-clean-fuel plant. This $612 million plant 
is expected to produce 5,000 barrels of sulfur-free diesel or other 
types of transportation fuel daily. This will have the multiple 
benefits of removing coal waste, reducing acid mine drainage, producing 
fuels that will reduce air pollution, and using a domestic energy 
supply, thus reducing the need to import foreign oil. The bill I am 
introducing today tasks the Department of Energy to work with the 
Department of Transportation to develop and encourage such 
technologies.
  America uses about 8 million barrels of oil daily to power the 
vehicles that we drive. The Department of Energy forecasts that this 
amount will climb to 10.6 million barrels per day by 2015, an increase 
of over 35 percent. I propose to limit that growth to 23 percent, or 
9.6 million barrels.
  America's national security is jeopardized by our growing dependence 
on foreign oil. Oil imports now account for a third of our nation's 
trade deficit, which exceeded $400 billion in 2001. I will continue to 
raise the issue of the untenable position the United States is in by 
relying on oil from the Middle East. This is highlighted by the fact 
that we continue to see suicide bombings in Israel and new attacks in 
other Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
  Additionally, the exhausts of our motor vehicles are the source of 
significant amounts of air pollution, including a quarter of the carbon 
dioxide emitted into our atmosphere, which is sited as a lead 
contributor to global climate change.
  To address these concerns, Congress need not attempt to micro manage 
a solution by setting higher CAFE levels. We should, however, set a 
clear, measurable objective--reducing the growth in oil consumption by 
at least a million barrels per day by 2015. We should then delegate to 
NHTSA, as the energy bill would have accomplished last year under the 
Levin-Bond amendment and my legislation does, the responsibility for 
working with the auto industry to achieve that objective. That approach 
will encourage American ingenuity and foster a public-private 
partnership that recognizes the interests of consumers and auto makers, 
as well as furthering public policy that will help relieve the very 
significant and dangerous policy of relying on our economy's lifeblood 
of oil from unstable regions.
  As this body considers energy legislation, I encourage my colleagues 
to consider the importance of taking appropriate steps to reduce our 
dependence on foreign sources of energy, particularly oil. I invite my 
colleagues to join me in this effort by cosponsoring this legislation.
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