[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  A CROSSROADS FOR U.S. ENERGY POLICY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last month a power blackout stranded 
millions of commuters and shut down businesses in the northeast and 
midwest. A few weeks later we saw the sharpest weekly increase ever in 
gasoline prices, just in time for Labor Day. And in Nevada, California 
and other western States, consumers are still smarting from energy 
market manipulation by Enron and other companies.
  It is clear, as President Bush recently pointed out, that our Nation 
desperately needs an energy policy.
  But not just any energy policy. It must be the right policy, one that 
protects consumers, safeguards our environment, and bolsters our 
national security.
  That means we must ensure the reliability of our electricity markets, 
make a serious commitment to conserve energy, balance the interests of 
big oil companies against the interests of consumers, and kick our 
addiction to oil from the Middle East.
  Unfortunately, some of the ideas that seem likely to emerge from the 
conference committee on the Energy bill would make matters worse, not 
better. Although the need for a new energy policy is urgent, we must 
not be stampeded down the wrong path.
  The Environmental Protection Agency took a dangerous step in that 
direction just a few weeks after the August blackout, when it relaxed 
pollution rules for some electric power plants.
  Allowing old plants to spew more pollution into our air is not the 
way to create a reliable supply of electricity. It is certainly not a 
good thing to spew this into the air for my children and my 
grandchildren. Instead, we must develop our abundant sources of clean, 
renewable energy: water, the wind, the sun, and the heat within the 
Earth.
  These resources can provide steady, reliable power that is not 
subject to wild market swings, protecting consumers from shortages and 
price spikes. Developing renewable energy also creates new jobs. And 
renewable energy is made in the USA, not subject to the whims of 
foreign powers.
  I am proud that Nevada is a leader in developing our renewable 
resources. By 2013, the State of Nevada has committed to produce 15 
percent of our electricity from renewable sources. State initiatives 
like this are important and good.
  These State initiatives that require a certain percentage of 
electricity is generated from renewable energy is spurring the growth 
of geothermal power in Nevada, California and other western states.
  Our Nation also needs to set an ambitious but attainable goal for 
developing renewable energy. Unfortunately, it appears that the 
conference committee will not include such a goal in the bill that will 
be offered for our consideration.
  We not only need goals for renewable energy, we need incentives that 
will help us reach them.
  Thanks to rapidly improving technology and tax incentives, 
development of wind power has exploded in the past several years.
  I have introduced legislation to expand the production tax credit 
from wind to include geothermal and solar power. This bipartisan 
legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Smith of Oregon and 14 others, 
would also extend the tax credit so businesses could invest in 
renewable energy with more certainty.
  If we are serious about an energy policy that helps consumers and our 
environment, these provisions must be included in any eventual 
agreement with the House.
  Another bad idea that is being promoted as the panacea for our energy 
problems is nuclear power.
  Nuclear power sounds okay until it is time to dispose of the 
dangerous radioactive waste. Then nobody wants the stuff anywhere near 
their community including those scientists who insist it is ``safe.''
  As most of my colleagues are aware, Nevadans are fighting a plan to 
dump the Nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, about an hour away 
from the fastest-growing urban area in the country, Las Vegas. We want 
our State to be a proving ground for renewable energy, not a dumping 
ground for nuclear waste. That should also be the thrust of our 
national policy for producing more electricity.
  When it comes to fueling our cars and trucks, we have to kick the 
Middle East oil habit. It compromises our national security and leaves 
consumers vulnerable to market manipulations by nations like Saudi 
Arabia, which contributed to the recent spike in U.S. gas prices by 
slashing exports.
  Unfortunately, we can not drill our way to energy independence. The 
U.S. currently uses 25 percent of the petroleum produced in the world, 
yet we hold only about 3 percent of the Earth's known reserves. We can 
not create more oil under the ground, and drilling in a pristine area 
like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would do very little to boost 
total production.
  There is a solution, however: We can do a better job of conserving 
oil, with stricter fuel standards for all vehicles, including popular 
SUVs. By reducing our dependence on foreign oil, conservation will make 
us more secure; it will also help consumers and the environment.
  Some people suggest that fuel cell technology will allow us to 
convert our vehicles from petroleum to hydrogen, but that will not 
happen overnight. In the meantime we need a clean way to produce 
hydrogen fuel. Burning fossil fuels to make hydrogen will still pollute 
our air and increase global warming. Clean, renewable energy should be 
part of the hydrogen solution.
  As we move into the 21st century, we face tremendous energy 
challenges, but we also have great opportunities.
  We must reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make a bold 
commitment to clean, renewable energy.
  I hope the members of the conference committee will keep these 
principles in mind as they work to prepare a bill for our 
consideration. Anything less would be a failure of vision and 
leadership.

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