Energy & Environment

I'm looking to stregnthen further mine safety and will be looking for vehicles to build upon cole mine health and safety.  What we did already is only a start, as we agreed when the bill was passed.  I look forward just as fervently to raising the minimum wage.  We shouldn't even adjourn until we increase the minimum wage.

Throughout history, wars have been fought over non-renewable natural resources. In a world focused on using renewable energy, these conflicts could be avoided and greater stability achieved. But we need to convince consumers to adopt renewable energy. To do so, we need to make renewables cost effective and improve their performance.

The U.S. was once the leader in solar technologies, but last year, only 11 percent of the photovoltaic generating capacity was manufactured here; and we have fallen behind our global competitors, such as Germany and Japan, which saw solar installation increase as a result of significant incentive programs.

But all is not lost, because nature gives us an advantage - the United States has far greater potential for solar power than many of our international rivals. We have tremendous growth potential, in the development renewable energy technologies such as solar, biofuels, and wind. We must leverage this potential today to eliminate our dependence on foreign energy sources, maintain our global competitiveness and for the sake of our environment.

The vote was extremely important. This is a real breakthrough, particularly in the Senate, in terms of opening up a new area for drilling, new production, and in terms of allowing revenue sharing. I think that model can allow us to open new areas in the future to increase domestic oil and gas production.

It was vitally important for Louisiana. We have been fighting for this for years – getting our fair share of offshore oil and gas revenues so that we can help meet our needs in terms of coastal reparation and hurricane protection.

If all goes well in the Senate this week, we should accomplish our long stride for lower gas prices and energy independence with the passage of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. I have long advocated opening up Lease 181 and fully support the provisions in this commonsense legislation. But, I have also offered an amendment that would allow other States including Virginia to opt out of the federal ban on deepwater exploration, if they choose to do so, with a portion of generated revenues going towards transportation infrastructure, in-State college tuitions, and coastal communities. With gasoline prices surging at more than $3 dollars a gallon, it is unbelievable and irresponsible to continue this obstructionist, detrimental moratorium on deepwater exploration. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act is an outstanding bill and is vital for our national security, competitiveness, and creating jobs.

Obviously national defense and homeland security are the most critical issues as we look at what's happening in Iraq.  Domestically, it's energy.  Hopefully people will think a bit more about advantaging ourselves of the natural gas and oil resources that we have.

Energy security equals national security.

I’m glad Japan has made a science-based decision to reopen its market to imports of beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger.  Millions of Americans consume beef everyday.  We know this product is safe.  Japanese consumers will once again be able to enjoy U.S. beef.  Our trade representative and agriculture secretary worked hard to help make this happen.  I also encourage scientists from the United States and Japan to continue working together to resolve differences that prevent beef from the United States that’s over 20 months from being shipped to Japan.  In the end, I hope today’s news is a major first step toward the full resumption of beef trade with Japan.

I am eagerly awaiting a Senate vote on their version of the House’s DOER Act, the outer-continental shelf drilling bill. After years of supporting the oil and gas industry in Louisiana, the state has suffered the effects on both the environment and its infrastructure. Although the Federal Treasury receives $6 billion to $8 billion each year in royalties from drilling in federal waters, Louisiana receives next to nothing. It is time Louisiana gets its fair share.

The Louisiana Legislature passed a constitutional amendment that will require revenues go toward repairing our battered coastline, which continues to erode each second, and to building a comprehensive hurricane protection program. The majority of coastal Louisiana has no federal levee system protecting its citizens from powerful hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita.

Offshore revenue-sharing would provide the funding Louisiana needs for these projects, as well as lower energy costs, increase domestic energy production and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. This is not about Louisiana wanting money. It is about Louisiana getting its fair share of what it needs so we can protect ourselves.

By: Peter Ogden, National Security Analyst

One year ago yesterday Congress finalized the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Yet it is hard to find anyone who would say that our country’s energy security has increased over that time. To the contrary: In a recent bi-partisan survey of leading foreign policy experts, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that our existing energy policy has had a negative effect on U.S. national security. 82 percent of respondents said that reducing our dependence on foreign oil should be our government’s highest priority.

The Bush administration must finally recognize that Dick Cheney’s 2001 effort to drill our way to energy security has failed. Unfortunately, while the administration is more than happy to lament America’s addiction to oil and the way energy politics “warp

I'm optimistic that the Senate will vote on their version of the legislation. That gives us the month of August to work on it. Given that it's an election year, the sooner that we can vote on it, the better. We're expecting them to break the filibuster with 60-plus-one on Monday.

We have so many vulnerabilities and no structure to address them as they relate to chemical security.  This tiered system is a good approach.