[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6865-S6866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN:
  S. 1497. A bill to promote the energy independence of the United 
States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, for the sake of our security, economy and 
environment, America needs a comprehensive energy policy that is 
independent of foreign energy sources and weans America off of fossil 
fuels.
  Last year, I introduced comprehensive energy legislation that would 
address the many challenges across our economy to achieving sustainable 
energy independence. I am very hopeful that this Congress will soon 
take steps to bring forward a comprehensive energy bill that will 
address many of the areas I believe are essential to this effort. I 
have cosponsored many of the individual planks of this comprehensive 
effort, and today I want to address how we can ensure that this energy 
policy does not have an expiration date or fall short of its laudable 
goals.
  Today I am introducing the Energy Independence Act.
  The Energy Independence Act will deliver energy independence to 
Americans by providing an energy plan that has the capacity to change 
with innovation. My bill will ensure that our energy policy will 
increase the efficiency and decrease the environmental impact of 
America's energy policy, and encourage our energy policy to adapt to 
our needs and abilities.
  My bill will set a congressional goal of achieving energy 
independence by 2017. ``Energy independence'' is defined as meeting all 
but 10 percent of our energy needs from domestic energy sources. The 
bill will also set a congressional goal of achieving independence from 
fossil fuels by 2037.
  My bill will also create a Blue Ribbon Energy Commission, which will 
meet every two years starting in 2009, to evaluate our progress in 
efforts to become energy independent, and to recommend changes to be 
made in reports to Congress.
  These are achievable goals.
  Petroleum, mostly used for transportation, accounts for 84 percent of 
our imported energy. Transportation accounts for roughly 28 percent of 
our energy use. I support raising CAFE standards, and have cosponsored 
S. 357, legislation by Senator Feinstein which would raise these 
standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2019. Studies show that raising 
CAFE standards to 40 miles per gallon would save over 36 billion 
gallons of gas per year, and creating efficiency standards for 
replacement tires would save more than 7 billion barrels of oil over 
the next 50 years. Creating incentives for commuting by train or bus, 
and funding upgrades and new starts in public transit services, such as 
the purple line of the DC metro, will also make a difference--in an 
average year, the round trip to work uses over 250 gallons of gas and 
creates about 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
  As part of a comprehensive energy bill we should also be mindful of 
the long-term effects of our energy policy on the environment, our 
landscape, and our health. I cosponsored S. 309, legislation by 
Senators Sanders and Boxer that provides for an economy-wide emissions 
cap and trade program. Enacting an economy-wide cap and trade program 
will ensure that our energy policy will be truly sustainable.
  America currently gets only 6.3 percent of its energy from renewable 
energy sources. Current ideas for addressing this problem focus on 
trying to make the large up-front investment in infrastructure required 
to produce renewable energy less daunting, by creating a long-term 
market for renewable energy through increasing the Federal Government's 
use of renewables and creating a Federal renewable portfolio standard 
to make utilities offer renewable energy to American consumers, and by 
making incentives like the renewable production tax credit permanent. I 
support creating Federal renewable portfolio standard, and will 
cosponsor legislation to be offered by Senator Bingaman to do so. I 
have also cosponsored S. 590, Senator Smith's legislation that would 
extend solar tax incentives through 2016, while expanding these 
incentives to cover more of the up-front investment required to use 
solar energy.
  In order to get to energy independence we must substantially increase 
our investment in energy research. I cosponsored S. 761, Senator Reid's 
America COMPETES Act, which will increase R&D funding for the 
Department of Energy, increase the DOE's emphasis on advanced energy 
research to overcome the long-term and high-risk technological barriers 
to the development of energy technologies, and implement 
recommendations made by the National Academies of Sciences report 
Rising Above a Gathering Storm.
  I will be advocating other areas of energy policy reform, including 
increasing funding for weatherization, providing incentives for 
telecommuting, and providing additional energy efficiency standards for 
appliances.
  We can do better, and the one overarching theme in the quest for a 
sustainable, long-term energy policy is the need to be able to be 
flexible and change our energy policy to suit our needs, capacity, 
research and development. My bill will give us the ability to provide 
long-term, bipartisan solutions that will address our energy policy 
going forward, and give us the flexibility, and the considered 
solutions of experts, to give the American people the energy policy 
they deserve.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

[[Page S6866]]

                                S. 1497

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Independence Act of 
     2007''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND GOALS.

       The purpose of this Act is to provide support for projects 
     and activities to facilitate the energy independence of the 
     United States so as to ensure that--
       (1) all but 10 percent of the energy needs of the United 
     States are supplied by domestic energy sources by calendar 
     year 2017; and
       (2) all but 20 percent of the energy needs of the United 
     States are supplied by non-fossil fuel sources by calendar 
     year 2037.

     SEC. 3. ENERGY POLICY COMMISSION.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--There is established a commission, to be 
     known as the ``National Commission on Energy Independence'' 
     (referred to in this section as the ``Commission'').
       (2) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 15 
     members, of whom--
       (A) 3 shall be appointed by the President;
       (B) 3 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the 
     Senate;
       (C) 3 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 
     Senate;
       (D) 3 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (E) 3 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (3) Co-chairpersons.--
       (A) In general.--The President shall designate 2 co-
     chairpersons from among the members of the Commission 
     appointed.
       (B) Political affiliation.--The co-chairpersons designated 
     under subparagraph (A) shall not both be affiliated with the 
     same political party.
       (4) Deadline for appointment.--Members of the Commission 
     shall be appointed not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (5) Term; vacancies.--
       (A) Term.--A member of the Commission shall be appointed 
     for the life of the Commission.
       (B) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Commission--
       (i) shall not affect the powers of the Commission; and
       (ii) shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
     appointment.
       (b) Purpose.--The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive 
     review of the energy policy of the United States by--
       (1) reviewing relevant analyses of the current and long-
     term energy policy of, and conditions in, the United States;
       (2) identifying problems that may threaten the achievement 
     by the United States of long-term energy policy goals, 
     including energy independence;
       (3) analyzing potential solutions to problems that threaten 
     the long-term ability of the United States to achieve those 
     energy policy goals; and
       (4) providing recommendations that will ensure, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, that the energy policy goals of 
     the United States are achieved.
       (c) Report and Recommendations.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than December 31 of each of 
     calendar years 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, the Commission 
     shall submit to Congress and the President a report on the 
     progress of United States in meeting the long-term energy 
     policy goal of energy independence, including a detailed 
     statement of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 
     of the Commission.
       (2) Legislative language.--If a recommendation submitted 
     under paragraph (1) involves legislative action, the report 
     shall include proposed legislative language to carry out the 
     action.
       (d) Commission Personnel Matters.--
       (1) Staff and director.--The Commission shall have a staff 
     headed by an Executive Director.
       (2) Staff appointment.--The Executive Director may appoint 
     such personnel as the Executive Director and the Commission 
     determine to be appropriate.
       (3) Experts and consultants.--With the approval of the 
     Commission, the Executive Director may procure temporary and 
     intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (4) Federal agencies.--
       (A) Detail of government employees.--
       (i) In general.--Upon the request of the Commission, the 
     head of any Federal agency may detail, without reimbursement, 
     any of the personnel of the Federal agency to the Commission 
     to assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission.
       (ii) Nature of detail.--Any detail of a Federal employee 
     under clause (i) shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the 
     civil service status or privileges of the Federal employee.
       (B) Technical assistance.--Upon the request of the 
     Commission, the head of a Federal agency shall provide such 
     technical assistance to the Commission as the Commission 
     determines to be necessary to carry out the duties of the 
     Commission.
       (e) Resources.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall have reasonable 
     access to materials, resources, statistical data, and such 
     other information from Executive agencies as the Commission 
     determines to be necessary to carry out the duties of the 
     Commission.
       (2) Form of requests.--The co-chairpersons of the 
     Commission shall make requests for access described in 
     paragraph (1) in writing, as necessary.
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