[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S9034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI:
  S. 3523. A bill to provide 8 steps for energy sufficiency, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, when I was home over the August recess, I 
traveled over 6,000 miles across Wyoming. I visited dozens of different 
cities in my home State, all of which have a variety of concerns and 
needs. I found, however, one common theme throughout every town and in 
every meeting I took. That theme was the need to do something about the 
high cost of energy.
  High energy prices are hurting everyone, but they are especially 
impacting the people of Wyoming. People in Wyoming are often forced to 
commute long distances to get to work. Some have to drive miles for 
groceries and general services that are common in larger cities. We 
need to do something to make America energy sufficient and today I am 
introducing my plan to make that happen.
  My bill is titled Eight Steps to Energy Sufficiency, and it follows a 
similar model I have used before. It breaks down the deficiencies in 
our Nation's energy policy into eight separate areas and provides a 
solution for those eight areas. It is a comprehensive approach, but it 
is broken down in a way that any one of the steps can be passed on its 
own merits.
  First step--use less energy. The problem that we are facing today is 
a supply and demand issue. We have too much demand for energy and not 
enough energy supply. My bill takes the approach that we can use less 
by aiding in the development of technology that will make vehicles more 
efficient.
  Second step--find more American energy. Traditional energy sources 
make up 85 percent of our energy portfolio today, and there is no way 
we can transition to renewable energy over night. Because that is the 
case, we should be focusing our efforts on developing as much American 
energy as we can so that we can stop sending money to countries that 
are not necessarily friendly to the U.S. My bill does this by opening 
up the Outer Continental Shelf to energy development and ending the 
senseless ban on oil shale development. These two actions will go a 
long way toward making America more energy sufficient.
  Third step--speed up the process. We can't get refineries built in 
the U.S., even though we need them and so my bill includes a provision 
to help streamline the permitting process for refineries. In addition 
to that, it takes a look at the NEPA process in an effort to see how we 
can limit senseless litigation that is slowing the production of energy 
on already leased lands.
  Fourth step--innovation. I am a huge believer in American ingenuity. 
Every year, I hold an inventor's conference because I believe our 
community of inventors will be key in solving our energy crisis. My 
bill recognizes this and helps move forward the development of hydrogen 
technologies. It also studies cellulosic ethanol to determine if we are 
doing all that we can to help move non-corn based ethanol forward.

  The fifth step of my plan deals with incentives. We need to 
incentivize the production of energy and we need to let people know 
that the Federal Government is in it for the long haul by providing 
incentives that last for more than a year. My plan would reauthorize 
the wind production tax credit for 5 years and it would renew the solar 
production tax credit for 8 years. It would repeal the Federal 
Government's theft of States' fair share of mineral royalties so that 
States would be encouraged to allow for production on their lands. It 
is important that we help people who are doing their part, and making 
these important credits available is one way to do just that.
  The sixth step of my plan to strengthen America's energy supply deals 
with our nation's most abundant energy source: coal. Wyoming is the 
Nation's largest coal producer, and any realistic effort to make 
America's energy supply more robust has to recognize that coal will 
play a major role in making that happen. My bill provides funding for 
research and development to help develop and deploy carbon capture and 
sequestration technologies. It promotes using coal to make diesel fuel 
and allows the Air Force to enter into long term fuels contracts so 
that our military has a secure source of jet fuel.
  Nuclear energy must also play a role in making America energy 
sufficient, and the seventh step of my plan encourages the development 
of nuclear energy. The bill recognizes the important role Yucca 
Mountain could play, and it offers up tax credits to help build new 
nuclear reactors. Wyoming is the Nation's largest producer of uranium, 
and because nuclear is a clean and efficient energy source, we should 
be doing all that we can to move it forward.
  Finally, the eighth step in my plan involves opening up a small area 
of Alaska's coastal plain to energy production. By opening up a portion 
of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that is roughly the size of the 
Natrona County International Airport in Casper, Wyoming, we can produce 
about a million barrels of American oil each day. The Energy 
Information Administration recently sent a letter suggesting that the 
addition of 1 million barrels of oil a day to the market could drop the 
price as much as $20 dollars per barrel, and we should act on this 
matter expeditiously.
  My bill is an eight step plan. I broke down my ideas for energy 
sufficiency into eight separate steps with the hope that each piece can 
be passed by Congress as stand-alone legislation. In Washington, bills 
that are smaller and more specific are much easier to pass than huge 
pieces of ``comprehensive'' legislation because those big bills can 
often gain opposition very quickly, and before you know it they will 
not pass. Whenever we try to push through big energy packages, nearly 
every Senator objects to some aspect of it, and that means we are not 
able get enough people in support of the bill to pass it. By breaking 
down my plan into sections, we have eight sensible solutions for 
Congress to consider, and if enacted, any one of them would ease the 
burden of high prices faced by consumers.
  I hope my colleagues will take a look at my package and will work 
with me to move forward with this important legislation. All summer, I 
heard about the importance of moving forward with energy legislation, 
and I believe my approach is the best way to make America energy 
sufficient.
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