Amendment No. 10 Offered by Mr. Kratovil

Floor Speech

Amendment No. 10 Offered by Mr. Kratovil -- (House of Representatives - June 25, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendment offered by Mr. Connolly of Virginia.

Mr. Chair, this amendment is an important clarification of section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act. This amendment clarifies that Federal agencies are not precluded from purchasing fuel that is not predominantly derived from higher carbon sources. While at the same time, this amendment maintains the original provision's intent by ensuring that our tax dollars are not spent on inefficient and highly polluting energy sources.

To my constituents in Colorado this particularly means that energy sources like oil shale won't be able to take our state's most precious resource ..... water.

Energy sources like oil shale take excessive amounts of energy to produce, making the net amount of energy we receive unjustifiable. Furthermore our western states understand that the most valuable resource we have isn't fossil fuels but water.

The process of developing oil shale is incredibly water intensive and our communities, rivers, and taxpayers simply can't afford it.

I thank Mr. Connolly for his work on this amendment and to Mr. Waxman in creating the original provision.

This amendment is a responsible step for taxpayers, for western communities, and our energy policy alike.

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