Merkley, Snowe float plan to slash US oil import reliance

Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) floated legislation Wednesday that would set a national goal for sharply cutting overseas oil imports over the next two decades.

The legislation surfaced the same day that President Obama gave a high-profile speech that called for cutting U.S. oil imports by a third by 2025 through expanded auto efficiency, advanced and alternative-fuel vehicles and domestic production.

The senators’ bill sets a goal of completely ending reliance on oil imported from outside North America by 2030, and creates a new federal body tasked with turning that goal into a reality.

The targets in the bill and Obama’s plan differ largely because Canada is the United States's top supplier of oil and Mexico is a major source of imports as well.

The senators said the bill will help ensure the U.S. stays on track to sharply cut imports even as political winds shift.

“The Energy Security Act of 2011 would establish a National Energy Security Council charged with keeping the nation’s focus on this goal even as presidential administrations change. The Council would report directly to the President to establish specific targets and oversee and coordinate federal programs to reduce oil consumption,” a summary of the measure states.

The council would “develop a national oil independence plan that would include a timetable for achieving oil independence and provide recommendations to Congress for legislation that would reduce oil consumption and promote oil independence,” according to the senators’ offices.