Pete Domenici: “over 18 months ago, the President signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The enactment of that legislation was a…”

“over 18 months ago, the President signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The enactment of that legislation was a watershed event in structuring sound energy policy for this Nation's future. One of the linchpins of that act is its commitment to the development of ethanol and other alternative fuels that will move us toward greater energy security by displacing foreign sources of energy for our transportation fuels. Since EPACT was enacted, we have seen a surge of interest in the development of infrastructure for production and distribution of ethanol and other biofuels. I am proud that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is greatly responsible for that. EPACT is creating American energy and American jobs in America's heartland. Just as I am proud of the new world of alternative fuels created in EPACT, I am also very proud of the bill Senator Bingaman and I have introduced to build on the renewable fuels provisions of that Act--the Biofuels for Energy Security and Transportation Act, the BEST Act--of 2007. The Energy Policy Act established the first renewable fuels standard, which required the production of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol annually by the year 2012.”