[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 27, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S3831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          BIOFUELS FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND TRANSPORTATION ACT

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, over 18 months ago, the President signed 
into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The enactment of that 
legislation was a watershed event in structuring sound energy policy 
for this Nation's future. One of the linchpins of that act is its 
commitment to the development of ethanol and other alternative fuels 
that will move us toward greater energy security by displacing foreign 
sources of energy for our transportation fuels.
  Since EPACT was enacted, we have seen a surge of interest in the 
development of infrastructure for production and distribution of 
ethanol and other biofuels. I am proud that the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 is greatly responsible for that. EPACT is creating American energy 
and American jobs in America's heartland.
  Just as I am proud of the new world of alternative fuels created in 
EPACT, I am also very proud of the bill Senator Bingaman and I have 
introduced to build on the renewable fuels provisions of that Act--the 
Biofuels for Energy Security and Transportation Act, the BEST Act--of 
2007.
  The Energy Policy Act established the first renewable fuels standard, 
which required the production of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol 
annually by the year 2012. Private industry responded, and today we are 
on course to exceeding significantly the levels set in the Energy. 
Since August 2005, construction has begun on more than 70 new ethanol 
biorefineries, creating more than 160,000 new jobs, and last year, this 
country produced nearly 5 billion gallons of ethanol.
  Building on that success, the BEST Act that Senator Bingaman and I 
have introduced increases the renewable fuels standard, RFS--beginning 
at a level of 8.5 billion gallons next year and increasing to 36 
billion gallons in 2022. We get this ambitious RFS with the 
understanding that promotion and enhancement of advanced biofuels, such 
as cellulosic ethanol, will be essential to making this new goal a 
reality.

  In his recent State of the Union speech, the President laid out an 
ambitious but worthy goal to reduce our consumption of gasoline by 20 
percent in 10 years. The President envisioned biofuels as a key 
component to meeting this goal. In addition to implementing the 2005 
Energy Bill, the BEST Act is another step, and a very significant one, 
in achieving that mark. By increasing our production and consumption of 
biofuels in the United States, we can decrease our reliance on foreign 
oil, while at the same time creating American jobs in a growing 
biofuels industry.
  To complement the increase in the renewable fuels standard, our bill 
includes several measures to help promote the establishment of a 
biofuels infrastructure, including grants to States and localities to 
build biofuels corridors.
  Another enhancement to speed production and distribution of these 
fuels is Federal loan guarantees specifically for these projects. I am 
pleased that we appear to be getting on the right path to implementing 
a significant loan guarantee program as envisioned in the title 17 of 
EPACT. This provision is absolutely essential to starting up some of 
the domestic clean energy investments we so urgently need to ensure our 
energy security. The BEST Act further refines those provisions to 
reflect the realities of commercial project finance.
  Finally, the bill increases our investment in bioenergy research and 
development by 50 percent. This research is essential to developing 
methods to produce advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, that 
we will need to meet our long-term goals.
  Several weeks ago, Senator Bingaman and I sponsored a biofuels 
conference in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to explore all 
of the issues related to this important piece of our energy policy. We 
heard from numerous government and private sector scientists, industry 
project developers, and the financial community. We explored every 
facet of the issues related to increased biofuels production and 
development. The BEST Act we have introduced is the culmination of our 
deliberations. I am very pleased with this effort and hopeful that it 
will be every bit as successful as the effort we spawned in the 2005 
Energy bill.

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