Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007

Floor Speech

CREATING LONG-TERM ENERGY ALTERNATIVES FOR THE NATION ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - June 12, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if there is no one here to speak directly to the amendment at this point, I would like to speak to the bill under this unanimous consent request. I will yield if someone comes to the floor to speak directly to the amendment, No. 1508.

This week in the Senate we are considering an energy bill, the Renewable Fuels Consumer Protection and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007. This legislation is built upon a goal we believe in, the goal to move America in a new energy direction which will enhance our national security and strengthen our economy while protecting the Earth on which we live.

This new energy direction calls upon the strength of America: innovation, ingenuity, creativity. We are calling for improvements in energy efficiency, development of cleaner alternative fuels, investment in research and development for new technology, improvements to fuel economy, and stronger consumer protection.

If we do not take steps to use our energy resources more wisely and instead continue on the path we have followed, we threaten our Nation's future, we risk our economic security, and we fail to protect our country and our children from the growing threats of global warming. If we continue on the path from where we have been, we will be left behind as others around the world who recognize the growing demand for energy make their own advancements in harnessing renewable resources and improving energy efficiency. We will fall behind as a nation and, instead of being leaders of innovation, we will be followers, reliant on others.

Business as usual will not improve our economy or make our Nation more secure. A new energy direction for our country will create jobs and grow our economy. Here are some facts, for a moment, to put it in perspective.

Every day, we consume 20.8 million barrels of oil, 14,000 barrels per minute, over 10,000 gallons per second--25 percent of all the oil produced in the world consumed here in the United States. Over 60 percent of the oil we use is imported. This figure may grow to 70 percent over the next two decades, with about half of the increase coming from members of the OPEC oil cartel, many with whom we have relationships that are shaky at best. The thirst for oil costs us $291 billion annually on oil imports, with 38 percent of this money going to OPEC.

In 2006, the top five integrated oil companies made $119 billion in profits. Making money is not a bad thing, but that is a recordbreaker. Since 2005, when the Senate last considered energy policy, gasoline prices have gone up 45 percent. Since the election of this President, gasoline prices in America have doubled. In my State, 2 years ago, we paid $2.19 a gallon. Today, the average is $3.35; in Chicago, $3.50. The cheapest gasoline I could find 10 days ago in Chicago, $3.75 a gallon. In the past 5 years, we have witnessed a 136-percent increase in gas prices and an 83-percent increase in diesel fuel prices. Think about the added shipping costs, manufacturing costs, and agricultural costs associated with this.

Three factors are at work here: the industry's failure to reinvest enough of their profits to expand refinery capacity, the increasing global demand for world oil resources, and our failure to reduce consumption. In order to help reduce our dependence on imported oil and break us from these ever-increasing costs, this bill calls for strengthening renewable fuel standards.

A century ago, Henry Ford's Model T was the first flex-fuel vehicle. It could run on both gasoline and ethanol. Ford knew that fuel could be found in many places, even fermented.

Here we are today, a century later, encouraging the production of bio-based renewable fuels in order to displace a portion of our petroleum thirst. This Energy bill calls for an increase in the domestic production of clean, renewable fuels to 8.5 billion gallons in 2012 and 36 billion in 2022. It specifically calls for an increase in advanced biofuels, those not derived solely from corn. This provision would save 1.4 million barrels of oil a day and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Another provision in this bill will save us 1.5 million barrels of oil a day and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For the first time in 30 years, this bill raises fuel economy standards for cars and trucks to 35 miles a gallon by the year 2020. I offered an amendment 2 years ago that would have called for these higher fuel economy standards. The Senate was not ready for that amendment. I think America was. My amendment did not pass, but it was a starting point for the legislation we have today.

Title V of this bill reflects a true bipartisan compromise and addresses many concerns about CAFE standards. It authorizes NHTSA to establish tailored fuel economy standards based on vehicle size and weight, which removes the disparity between large-car manufacturers and those that produce smaller vehicles.

I would like to say a word about this. I still hear that many of the American automobile companies oppose these CAFE standards. It is truly unfortunate. The time for debate has come and gone. Unfortunately, some of the leaders of these companies have failed to make the right decisions about the products they sell in America. They have failed to invest in the kind of technology that would have brought us better miles per gallon with safe cars, cars that serve our families and the needs of our economy. They failed to do this. Sadly, other automobile companies have not failed. They have stepped in with more fuel-efficient cars that are now extremely popular. There are long waiting lines for hybrid vehicles and other cars that have real fuel economy. It is a sad day for Detroit, and I feel bad for an industry which once used to lead the world, and I feel even worse for the workers who were not part of these management decisions which unfortunately brought them to this moment today, decisions which resulted in cars and trucks that are being sold that do not serve the needs of America and its future as they should.

Now we have to change. We really have to move beyond this. We have to urge Detroit to move beyond their current thinking. Instead of just selling us more of last year's model, bring us fuel efficiency, bring us fuel economy so we can save money at the gas pumps and stop pumping all of these greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, destroying the climate on our planet.

Two years ago, BusinessWeek published a story that said:

As Congress puts the final touches on a massive new energy bill, lawmakers are about to blow it. That's because the bill ..... almost certainly won't include ..... a government-mandated increase in average fuel economy.

That was 2 years ago. That is when I offered my amendment. That is when it failed. We cannot fail again. If we fail again, shame on this Congress, shame on the Members who will not look to the reality of our future, which is with more fuel economy and fewer emissions from vehicles.

We also need to move for energy efficiency in so many different areas--in the appliances we use and the machinery we build, certainly in the cars and trucks we drive. We have to realize our reliance on foreign oil does not make us safer but, in fact, weaker in a world of real danger. We need to reduce our demand for foreign oil and increase domestic sources so we do not find ourselves drawn into countries around the world primarily because we depend so much on the energy from that country or that region. We have seen it happen over and over again.

A New York Times article from April 20 cited a report issued by 11 retired admirals and generals. This report argued that climate change could be a ``threat multiplier'' in already fragile parts of the world. Rising sea levels could threaten the livelihoods of a billion people living within 45 miles of Asia's coastlines; in Africa, recurring heat waves, causing widespread shortages of food and water. So our dependence on foreign oil and the energy we consume not only sends more American dollars abroad, sometimes to countries that do not share our values, but it tends to change the world we live in, change it in ways that destabilize us and make the world less safe.

We want innovation to be the driver of our future, not oil. We want more American jobs, a stronger economy, and a cleaner environment. We want a secure future for America.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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