Durbin Proposes Legislation to Address Rising Gas Prices and Promote Energy Independence

Press Release

With gas prices beginning to climb, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Senate Democrats plan to schedule votes in the next few weeks on the National Energy and Environmental Security Act, legislation that expands the use of alternative fuels, increases the energy efficiency of both buildings and cars, and prevents price gouging, profiteering and market manipulation.

Durbin also expressed optimism on the prospects of passing a bill that sets new fuel economy standards. Durbin has long supported setting a new ambitious and attainable fuel efficiency standard for cars and certain light trucks, including sport utility vehicles. The bill, often referred to as CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy), is designed to get the United States back on track toward a cleaner, more efficient and less oil-dependent energy future. A similar bill with the same goal received Senate Committee approval earlier this week and Durbin believes the legislation has a good chance to pass the full Senate this year, though the standard in the bill is not as strong as he would like.

"The most efficient way to lower prices is to reduce demand," said Durbin. "Continued reliance on foreign sources of oil, in a world with increasing competition for those limited resources, is a dangerous future for America. We need to reduce our dependence, first by increasing the fuel economy of our cars. It's a solution I've been advocating for years. It's the right thing to do and the momentum for real reform is building," said Durbin.

On Thursday, Durbin introduced the Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve Act of 2007. The legislation would require the Department of Energy to hold and manage 45 million barrels of unleaded gasoline, 21 million barrels of diesel fuel and 7.5 million barrels of jet fuel to be used in times of supply shortages - shortages that adversely impact the U.S. economy.

The U.S. currently maintains a Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but without refinery capacity, putting crude oil on the market does little to provide gasoline to consumers and alleviate high prices at pump, as gas prices are largely affected by tight supplies.

This reserve, which represents about a 4-day supply based on current demand, would provide a price buffer when pipelines or refinery outages occur, helping to mitigate price spikes that bite consumers in the pocketbook.

In the past, the Consumer Federation of America has urged Congress to create a national fuel reserve. They recognize that American households who own cars will consume over 100 billion gallons of gasoline this year - costing them over $200 billion at the pump.

Source