Walberg Supports Bill to Roll Back Costly Government Fuel Mandates, Simplify American Gasoline Supply
Press Release
Walberg Supports Bill to Roll Back Costly Government Fuel Mandates, Simplify American Gasoline Supply
U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) today signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Fuel Mandate Reduction Act (H.R. 2493). This bill will simplify our nation's gasoline supply and limit the number of costly, regional "boutique fuels." Summer blends are now in effect nationwide and are causing rising seasonal prices on top of the already high prices for crude oil. Limiting the number of boutique fuels will reduce price spikes and create a larger market for refined gasoline.
The current gasoline supply stock used by U.S. motorists includes "boutique," or specially formulated, fuels, which are required by law in different regions and different seasons. When supplies are limited, prices tend to rise quickly, substantially and sometimes with very little prior notice. H.R. 2493 would reduce the number of "boutique fuels" which would benefit consumers by preventing specialty blends from driving up gasoline prices and allow different regions to access a national fuel supply.
"We need to do all we can to bring down the price at the pump, and this bill will bring gasoline to the American market quicker, at a lower cost and with less confusion," Walberg said. "Along with limiting fuel blends, Congress needs to allow more environmentally sound exploration of oil and natural gas in Alaska, the Outer-Continental Shelf and the Gulf of Mexico and streamline the process to build new refineries. Greater energy exploration in America, more energy from alternative fuel sources and an increase in innovative solutions like coal-to-liquids technology all must be part of a comprehensive energy solution."
Yesterday President Bush lifted a executive branch ban on offshore drilling, and Congress is now the only thing holding up offshore drilling. Walberg, along with 95 other Members of Congress, sent a letter to the President to lift the executive memorandum banning offshore drilling. The letter is available at http://walberg.house.gov/blog/?p=243.
Walberg introduced a discharge petition in June to bring the No More Excuses Energy Act, legislation to increase U.S. energy production and invest in alternative sources of energy, to the House floor for a vote. House rules state that a discharge petition must have 218 signatures (a simple majority) in order to bring a bill to the floor for a vote. 154 members have signed the petition so far.
Walberg supports H.R. 2208, the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Act. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and John Shimkus (R-IL), would bring down pump prices by encouraging the use of clean coal-to-liquid technology to produce alternative transportation fuels. The bill would authorize the Secretary of Energy to help with coal-to-liquid projects that produce innovative transportation fuel, which would increase production of clean American energy.
The No More Excuses Energy Act (H.R. 3089):
- Encourages new refinery construction and makes federal lands available for refinery
construction.
- Reduces green house emissions by encouraging the capture of CO2 from marginal oil wells.
- Boosts alternative energy development by extending the Wind Production Tax Credit for 10
years.
- Lifts the Congressional Moratoria on exploring the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), potentially
providing 17 billion barrels of oil.
- Opens the ANWR to responsible exploration, potentially producing nearly a million barrels
per day for several decades.
- Encourages investment in a much-needed industrial base for building modern nuclear
power plants.
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