Energy & Environment

The Prudhoe Bay oil spill has grown more alarming with each new revelation.  However, what we heard today was the most shocking yet.  In today's Energy and Commerce Committee hearing we learned that had BP performed even basic periodic maintenance of its pipelines this whole mess could have been prevented.  Unfortunately, they did not, and the entire country has paid the price.  Our number one oilfield has been shut down, international financial markets have been turned upside down and consumers are paying more at the pump.

The potential damage to BP's infrastructure, bottom line and reputation should have been enough to compel it to take care of its pipes.  After all, this is the company that wants to move "beyond petroleum" to help foster a more sustainable energy future.  Judging by the Prudhoe Bay fiasco, maybe BP should focus more energy on rudimentary pipeline maintenance and less on green public relations.

As we search for lasting ways to meet our nation’s energy needs, we must make every possible effort to encourage the use of renewable biofuels, and the manufacture of fuel-efficient vehicles.

My tax credit proposal for flexible fuel hybrid vehicles (FFHVs) does both. On the road today, you have flexible fuel cars that can run on E85, regular gasoline, or any combination of the two; and you have hybrid vehicles that use electricity to cut down on gas use. In January, Ford Motor Company unveiled the world’s first vehicle combining the flex fuel and the hybrid technologies. The company is currently researching the marriage of these two systems, and the vehicle is expected to be market-ready soon. While Ford is currently the only car maker that is marketing flex fuel hybrid vehicles, others are expected to follow.

It is important we provide incentives for people to buy these cars. Ford estimates that if 5% of the vehicles on the road in the U.S. were flex fuel hybrids, we would eliminate the need for 140 million barrels of imported oil a year. If we make it easier for consumers to purchase FFHVs, we make it more attractive for companies like Ford (a U.S. company, I might add) to make them.

That’s what my tax credit proposal is all about. Its basic structure is like that of the hybrid credit in the EP Act of 2005: the more fuel efficient the car, the higher the credit, up to $3,500.

If we are serious about weaning this country off of imported oil, passing measures like this is a common sense start.

According to a front page article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, "The oil industry is on the verge of cracking open a deep-water region in the Gulf of Mexico that could become the nation's biggest new domestic source of oil since the discovery of Alaska's North Slope more than a generation ago."

This is great news for our country because we need to responsibly increase our domestic production while we also aggressively pursue alternative sources of energy and fuel. This is also great news for Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi - three states that are interested in Gulf drilling because of the resources and opportunities it may provide those states.

However, this is not good news for Florida. The Sunshine State continues to weather a bipartisan push for drilling off its pristine and renowned beaches. Unlike these other states, the vast majority of Floridians do not want drilling near our coasts, which attract millions of tourists to the state every year. Tourism is Florida's #1 industry, and the Florida delegation is united in opposing drilling off our treasured beaches.

These new discoveries of oil deposits in the Gulf only add to the pressure to drill and again highlights why we need a permanent drilling ban around the state of Florida. That is why I continue to support the Pombo-Putnam compromise in the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act.

I am hopeful that we can get the drilling ban done this year.

For far too long, Americans have been shackled to our dependence on foreign energy. This dependence has tethered our security to distant and unstable lands, like the Middle East. And, with every tug and pull at these chains of dependence from rogue nations and brazen terrorists, the effects are felt at gas stations in every hometown across America - and in every American's wallet.

But, we have a choice. Every link in this chain of dependence can be broken by developing America's known sources of energy - a critical first step in achieving long-term energy independence. Unfortunately, our dependence on foreign energy was chosen for us by liberal special interests who have said "No!" to a comprehensive domestic energy policy for more than 30 years. This so-called energy policy empowered other nations to fetter us to unpredictable foreign energy markets. As a result, America is less secure. Over the past year, gas prices have ballooned, and Americans have finally mustered up the strength to diversify their energy policy, and break out of the shackles of foreign energy dependence.

The recent oil find in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico exemplifies our country's immense domestic energy potential. One of the largest oil fields in American history may lie under the ocean. But we'll never know for sure unless these areas are explored. The bipartisan Deep Ocean Energy Resources (DOER) Act gives Americans freedom from foreign energy dependence, which is as unpredictable as sandstorms in the Arabian deserts.

We must remember - an America independent of foreign energy is an America that is secure for every current and future citizen of this nation.

Recently, my campaign began airing a commercial on cable television that notes the disappointing direction Bush Republicans have taken our country in these past few years. The President and his rubber-stamp Republican Congress have failed us in Iraq and in the fight to lower the cost of prescription drugs and gasoline prices. We need common-sense change in Congress, and we need it soon. Watch my commercial and let me know what you think.

This week marks the third anniversary of a report that laid bare one of the most disastrous failures of government I have seen in my 30 years as a legislator. In 2003, the EPA Inspector General released a report that confirmed what I had been saying from the beginning of the recovery process -- the EPA had failed abjectly and miserably to fulfill its mandate in the aftermath of September 11th.

The 2003 Inspector General’s Report detailed misleading and falsely assuring statements make by EPA officials about air quality post 9/11, and specifically cited White House interference as a major factor in those statements. It also found that the Agency’s 2002 so-called "Indoor Air Residential Cleanup Program" was deeply flawed in design, too limited in scope, utilized inadequate testing and cleanup methods, and therefore did not meet "the minimum criteria for protecting human health the EPA established. . . ." Since the publication of this damning internal report, there has been plenty of talk by the EPA, but to this day, a complete failure to act in the manner called for by the IG.

Three years later, I, along with my colleagues from the New York Congressional
Delegation in the House and Senate are calling on the EPA to finally comply
with the findings of the Inspector General's Report issued on August 21, 2003.
This week marks the third anniversary of a report that laid bare one of the most disastrous failures of government I have seen in my 30 years as a legislator. In 2003, the EPA Inspector General released a report that confirmed what I had been saying from the beginning of the recovery process -- the EPA had failed abjectly and miserably to fulfill its mandate in the aftermath of September 11th.

In a letter we sent to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, we demand that
EPA “make a full and complete disclosure to the public about the health risks
associated with World Trade Center contamination, and institute a proper testing
and clean-up program for all buildings contaminated by the terrorist attacks.

It is time for the United States and the United Nations to call Iran's bluff and impose strict economic sanctions if Iran refuses to meet an August 31 deadline for suspending its nuclear enrichment program. After 11 weeks of delay, Iran formally responded Tuesday to a United Nations incentives package aimed at persuading Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.  Iranian officials offered what they called a "new formula" to resolve the dispute, but they repeatedly vowed to push ahead with their nuclear program.

I have closely monitored developments in Iran as a member of the International Relations Committee and the ranking member of the Terrorism and Nonproliferation Subcommittee. It is clear that the Iranian government has no intention of suspending enrichment by August 31, as required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1696.

The Iranian tactic is always to offer a glimmer of hope that some settlement can be achieved, and threaten all kinds of counter-measures if sanctions are imposed.  For the past four years, Iran has played that game.  It is high time the Security Council and other concerned countries call their bluff unless Iran verifiably suspends enrichment efforts.

It is time for the Security Council to ready a package of tough economic sanctions should Iran fail to do anything short of a full suspension by August 31.  It also is time for the Bush administration to start using the tools at its disposal.  It is time for the United States to impose an embargo on all Iranian goods, punish any American companies with subsidiaries operating in Iran, and actually enforce the Iran Libya Sanctions Act by imposing sanctions on foreign firms which invest in Iran's energy sector.

The U.S. should remain ready to negotiate with the Iranian government, and we should be willing to offer improved relations with Iran should Tehran agree to abandon its nuclear weapons program and its support for terrorists.
At this point, however, Iran must be forced to take such discussions seriously.  Right now, it is just a game for them.  We should stop playing.

From the Peppermill Steakhouse in Valentine, NE:

Over the past few days I have traveled across the state of Nebraska visiting with community leaders to discuss ways to enhance our rural communities and preserve our rural way of life.

Yesterday in Ogallala I visited Lake McConaughy for a briefing on drought conditions in the area and water conservation efforts. The drought in Nebraska is in its 6th or 7th year and continues to inflict damage on our agriculture industry. A couple of years ago I named the drought "David" in order to raise awareness that it is a natural disaster, just like a hurricane. Since then Congress has fallen woefully short in addressing the economic losses of the drought. Along with many of my colleagues, I hope that the $4 billion disaster assistance package approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee will be considered and passed by the Senate.

This morning I met with hospital officials in Scottsbluff to discuss Washington's failure to understand rural health care. I have a bill that would prevent damaging new rules on rehabilitational care proposed by CMS from being implemented. If they are, many rural areas will see greatly diminished health care options or may even see their hospitals close their doors. I've often said when it comes to rural life, Washington just doesn't get it. This is a perfect example. Read more...

My priority will be revisiting Medicare Part D in terms of reopening the enrollment period for seniors.  My second priority would be raising the minimum wage.  And my third priority would be tackling the gasoline price hike by putting in place measures to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and to save people at the pump.

'No!' is not an energy plan for America. For too many years now, liberal Members of Congress have supported legislation that consistently said 'No!' to an American energy policy.  It is mind boggling that the greatest nation in the world doesn't have a comprehensive energy plan.

With the DOER Act's (Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act) House and Senate conference on the horizon, we can finally hear the word 'Yes!' that has eluded us for so many years. I want the upcoming House and Senate conference on the DOER Act to be a victory for the American people. A victory that means:  'Yes!' to a domestic energy policy, 'Yes!' to responsible energy exploration, 'Yes!' to the DOER Act, and 'Yes!' to an America free from the vices of foreign energy dependence.