[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. 
        Carper):
  S. 3554. A bill to establish an alternative diesel standard, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by my 
distinguished colleagues, the Senator from Mississippi, Mr. Cochran, 
the Senator from Indiana, Mr. Lugar, and the Senator from Delaware, Mr. 
Carper, in introducing the Alternative Diesel Standard Act of 2006.
  Last summer, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which included a 
bold, bipartisan initiative to help wean our Nation from its petroleum 
dependency. This initiative, known as the Renewable Fuels Standard, 
established that it is the policy of the United States that the 140 
billion gallon national gasoline pool will consist of at least 7.5 
billion gallons of ethanol by the year 2012.
  We have seen tremendous response to this new policy. Almost 30 new 
ethanol plants have been proposed to be constructed in my State of 
Illinois alone, and many more are proposed nationwide. By comparison, 
over the past 30 years, no new petroleum refineries have been built in 
the United States. The Renewable Fuels Standard is probably one of the 
single most important legislative actions taken by Congress in recent 
years to strengthen our domestic energy security, and the legislation 
we introduce today takes this policy one step further by addressing the 
40 billion gallon national diesel pool.
  Petroleum-based diesel is used in a wide variety of transportation 
modes: transit buses; semitrucks; ships; heavy duty construction, 
farming and mining equipment; military vehicles; locomotives; barges; 
large scale generators; and in a range of cars and trucks. While not as 
large of a market as gasoline, petrodiesel is enormously significant to 
our economy, and reducing our reliance on foreign feedstocks for this 
diesel is of equal importance in our efforts to increase energy 
security.
  Our bill, the Alternative Diesel Standard, simply requires that by 
the year 2015, the national diesel pool must consist of at least 2 
billion gallons of alternative and renewable diesels.
  This is but a modest 1 percent of the national diesel supply--hardly 
painful for the petroleum industry. It would not in any way dent the 
oil industry's record-shattering profits. Instead, it establishes 
certainty to those who know that alternative diesels can provide a real 
solution to our dependence on foreign oil and who are prepared to 
invest in alternative diesel production on a commercial scale.
  Right now, there is an estimated 180 million gallons of biodiesel 
production capacity in the United States. Fifty-four companies have 
reported plans to construct dedicated biodiesel plants in the near 
future, but those plans are dependent upon regional and national demand 
prospects.
  Moreover, entrepreneurs across the Nation have proven that we can 
make diesel from other plant oils, like sunflower seeds, or coal, 
manure, animal fats, and yes, even from recycled plastics or garbage. 
This bill sends a signal to those entrepreneurs that a market is 
planned in the future for these domestically produced fuels, attracting 
the necessary investment to establish a national infrastructure of 
domestic fuel production capabilities.
  If we are serious about reducing our country's dependence on imported 
petroleum and insulating our economy from future supply disruption 
shocks--whether from the volatile Middle East or natural disasters such 
as Katrina--encouraging the construction of more domestic alternative 
fuel production capacity must be part of that strategy. Several billion 
gallons of alternative diesels are possible within the timelines 
proposed in our legislation, making another bold step to create jobs in 
rural America and strengthen our economic security. An Alternative 
Diesel Standard is the right course for the Nation's future. I hope my 
colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this legislation, and I ask 
their support for swift enactment.

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