[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 32074]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise on the eve of consideration of 
major energy legislation here in this House. And while the President 
seems willing to admit that America is addicted to imported oil, which 
is step one, recognition, he can't seem to get much further than that. 
In fact, during his administration, America is now importing over a 
billion more barrels of imported oil every year. A billion more than 
when he began his administration.
  So admitting we have a problem is easy. You can do it at a distance. 
You can mention it in your State of the Union address. That doesn't 
solve the crisis.
  Every day that the President makes another empty veto threat against 
energy legislation is another day for growing our trade deficit by oil. 
In fact, if you look at what's happening today, nearly three quarters 
of what we use to drive this economy that is petroleum-based is 
imported. And that oil import constitutes about a third of our trillion 
dollar trade deficit. It's a disastrous policy. It takes away America's 
independence. And it keeps us addicted to a lot of places in the world 
that don't have democratic governments in place.
  Our addiction is obvious, and the solution seems just as clear. When 
our Nation launched its space program and we embarked upon a national 
effort, we developed our domestic resources and we began to move into 
outer space. We can do the same in energy if we were serious. From 
domestically produced biofuels to wind to fuel cells, hydrogen, solar 
power, and geothermal, as well as clean coal technologies, the 
potential of our market is unlimited. But it is limited by our 
technological and industrial imagination.
  With half as many sunny days as countries like Portugal, the world's 
leading solar energy producer is not the United States but Germany. 
Germany accounts for 15 percent of worldwide sales in solar panels and 
other photovoltaic equipment and has 15 of the 20 biggest solar plants. 
That's right. A country located in Northern Europe with no natural 
advantage is outperforming the rest of the world. And they are doing 
the same with wind power.
  On wind energy, the story is much the same. Take one look at our 
Nation's wind map, and our wind potential is very, very clear.
  This is a map of the United States, of course, with the darkest areas 
indicating where we are most wind rich. From rich reserves in offshore 
wind production along the Great Lakes to the upper plains regions whose 
fields howl day and night, America must act to capture that endless 
resource. Simply recognizing the potential is only our first step. 
While the United States lags behind, European companies are investing 
billions into our nascent wind market. As pointed out in a recent 
Herald Tribune article in July of 2007, a Portuguese company, Energias, 
paid nearly $3 billion to buy Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs. 
This purchase secures their parent company, Mexia, with the fourth 
largest wind farm capacity in the world, behind mostly European 
companies like Iberdrola of Spain and another Spanish company, Acciona 
Energia. When is our Nation going to be serious about stepping up to 
energy independence and capturing some of the resources that bless our 
land?
  The key for developing our domestic industry in both wind and solar 
is political leadership from here in Washington. And unless we take 
these needed steps, America will continue to take its lead from foreign 
nations, and our hopes for developing true domestic new industries 
along with the jobs they hold will never materialize.
  Mr. President, if you are serious about solving our energy crisis, I 
suggest you enroll in Congress's 12-step plan for recovering from our 
oil addiction. We will begin some of those discussions tomorrow as the 
energy bill is considered. Some of the steps are contained in that 
bill.
  It's time that we invite the President to join us in shaping a new 
energy future for our Nation that restores our inherent economic 
independence by becoming energy independent and, in so doing, secure 
political independence for future generations.

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