[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ENERGY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, we commemorate Earth Day at a time when 
American soldiers are in Iraq, in part as a consequence of our energy 
dependence. No matter what the press releases say, the way this 
Congress is commemorating Earth Day is by recycling the energy bill.
  It is replete with massive subsidies that will continue to tie us to 
the past. Rather than the development of true energy independence 
gained by working with renewables and a massive effort at energy 
conservation, this energy bill is a monument to Congress's inability to 
think comprehensively about the future. Our energy dependence and 
wasteful policies mean that we are desperately dependent on a volatile 
Middle East, especially Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as we spend a major 
portion of our defense budget protecting the stability in that oil-rich 
region.
  The Pentagon is also the largest single consumer of fuel in the 
United States, almost 2 percent of the country's total transportation 
fuel. And much of this fuel use is due to highly inefficient vehicles, 
from an Abrams tank, weighing 68 tons, that gets only about half a mile 
to a gallon, to an aircraft carrier that gets 17 feet to a gallon.
  The United States military now uses 1.7 million gallons of fuel a day 
in Iraq. The cost of this fuel can be up to $400 a gallon depending on 
how it is delivered. Our military itself is clearly held hostage by the 
philosophy that energy efficiency does not matter. As the lines of 
supply are dangerously stretched with more points of vulnerability, 
while the flexibility and nimbleness of our troops are compromised by 
having to have huge amounts of gasoline close at hand. Lighter, more 
energy efficient vehicles are harder targets for the enemy to strike, 
and they can move greater distances between refueling and do not need 
this long chain of supply with more points of vulnerability for the 
vehicles and for our soldiers.

                              {time}  1300

  The situation the military faces in Iraq and other potential trouble 
spots demands action on an ambitious energy policy with a significant 
commitment to fuel conservation and renewable technologies, if only for 
the sake of the security of our Nation and the safety of our troops.
  The skyrocketing gas prices this spring further demonstrates that we 
are hostage to an inadequate energy infrastructure with constrained 
refining capacity. The energy bill contains almost no incentives for 
change, as all those currently in control profit by this restricted 
supply, vulnerability, and volatility. As gasoline prices have 
increased 50 cents a gallon in a matter of weeks, every tank of 
gasoline is a reminder that the Republican leadership in Congress for 
10 years has refused to significantly increase fuel efficiency 
standards, which would have meant significant money in the pocket of 
every American family.
  The inability or unwillingness to establish a predictable window for 
wind energy development, by making the production tax credit permanent 
means that tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of 
dollars in new investment are delayed, with the advances in technology 
and additional elements of supply are denied to the public. This is 
ironic, when our military is touting the contribution that wind energy 
is making to the security and efficiency of operations at Guantanamo.
  The energy bill continues to spend too much for the wrong people to 
do the wrong things and shortchanging the technologies and strategies 
that ultimately will make a difference for the future. There is no 
question that America in this century will rely much more heavily on 
renewables and conservation. The sad note is that we are slipping 
behind the Chinese, who are increasing their cars' fuel efficiency 
standards, and further behind the European and Japanese, who are 
already racing ahead of us in energy efficiency.
  Even in a defense-dominated, security-obsessed environment that this 
Congress operates in, we cannot make energy investments that will at 
least enhance our military to make the military and America's families 
more secure. We can and should do better.

                          ____________________