[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4706-S4707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Mikulski, 
        Mr. Dodd, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Carper, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Reed, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Salazar, 
        Mr. Schumer, Mr. Dorgan, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Johnson, 
        Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Levin, 
        and Mr. Biden):
  S. 2829. A bill to reduce the addiction of the United States to oil, 
to ensure near-term energy affordability and empower American families, 
to accelerate clean fuels and electricity, to provide government 
leadership for clean and secure energy, to secure a reliable, 
affordable, and sustainable energy future, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that 
seeks to put America squarely on the path toward energy security for 
the 21st Century. Today, I am joined by a number of my colleagues in 
introducing the Clean Energy Development for a Growing Economy, or 
Clean EDGE, Act.
  Mr. President, this legislation is a sweeping proposal that 
incorporates the ideas of many of my colleagues on this side of the 
aisle. It is our attempt to move America forward, on a pressing issue 
that--as we've said many times before--poses one of the greatest 
national security, economic and environmental challenges faced by our 
generation. I am talking about the issue of energy independence, and 
what it will take to put America on the right track.
  The legislation we are presenting today is the result of a good deal 
of work within our caucus. As a member of the Senate Energy Committee, 
I speak from some experience when I say that developing a cohesive, 
national approach to energy policy is quite difficult. That is because, 
in so many instances, there are important issues of regional diversity 
that can divide us.
  Instead of immediately succumbing to those divisions, what we did 
when we began to work on this legislation was to start with a goal. 
Like the Manhattan Project that established America as the world's 
first nuclear power, and the Apollo Project that ensured America won 
the race to the moon, we recognized that initiatives of this magnitude 
must begin with a goal. When America sets a goal, America will achieve 
it. It takes leadership and resolve, and it takes the shared commitment 
of individual citizens to make it a truly national effort. But make no 
mistake: the people of the United States will rise to the challenge.
  Today, we can no longer ignore the enormous cost of America's 
dependence on foreign oil. It has become a crisis for consumers; it 
poses an imminent

[[Page S4707]]

risk to our national security; and it jeopardizes our long-term 
economic competitiveness. That is why we believe that America must 
strive for an aggressive goal: to reduce our national petroleum 
consumption equivalent to 40 percent of our projected imports by 2020, 
or about 6 million barrels of oil a day.
  Next, we set out to define agreed-upon principles about the best ways 
we could jumpstart our Nation's effort to achieve this goal. I am proud 
to say that we were able to achieve a good deal of consensus on these 
principles. Today, we sent the President a letter outlining them, which 
gained the signatures of 42 of my colleagues. These principles boil 
down to this:
  The United States must launch an aggressive effort designed to ensure 
that an increasing number of new vehicles sold in America can run on 
alternative fuels--starting with 25 percent in 2010--and must launch a 
bold initiative to invest in the infrastructure needed to promote real 
competition at the gas pump.
  The United States must ensure that consumers are protected from 
gasoline price-gouging and energy market manipulation.
  The United States must lessen its reliance on fossil fuels and take 
steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions by diversifying electricity 
sources to include more renewable resources.
  The United States Governmment--our Nation's single largest energy 
consumer--must help lead the transition by adopting the best available 
fuel efficiency and alternative vehicle technologies to reduce its 
petroleum consumption by 20 percent over the next 5 years, and by 40 
percent by 2020.
  The United States must level the playing field for new renewable and 
energy efficiency technologies by providing incentives for consumers 
and manufacturers to develop and deploy the next generation of fuel 
efficient vehicles, and by ensuring that major oil companies pay their 
fair share in taxes and royalties owed to the American public.
  These are the principles that guided us as we crafted the Clean EDGE 
Act. This legislation is a starting point, as we try to advance the 
dialogue about what it will take to put America on the path toward 
energy independence.
  There are provisions contained in this bill that we know can garner 
broad bipartisan support. There are others that may not have been 
possible to enact, before America started waking up to the costs of our 
energy independence. And there are other ideas that require broader 
debate and close scrutiny within the Senate Committees of jurisdiction. 
The Senate should work its will.
  But once again, that is the point of this legislation: to start the 
process; to jump-start the debate, and outline a vision of where this 
country needs to go to secure our future.
  As we have come together on this side of the aisle in recognition of 
the need to address the pressing issue of energy security, I know I 
speak for a number of my colleagues when I say I believe it is possible 
to come together in a bipartisan manner to pass energy legislation this 
summer. It is possible, if the Senate decides to put politics and 
partisan rancor aside. We can roll up our sleeves and get to work on 
crafting a real energy security plan that brings out the best in 
America. That process would also bring out the best in the Senate.
  So I am proud to introduce this legislation today, and look forward 
to working with my colleagues across the aisle in further developing an 
energy independence plan for America.

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