María Elvira Salazar: “let me say to my friends and colleagues from New Mexico, Senators Bingaman and Domenici, I very much appreciate the…”

“let me say to my friends and colleagues from New Mexico, Senators Bingaman and Domenici, I very much appreciate the bipartisan leadership they are exercising in moving us forward in grappling with the imperative of national energy independence. I believe the National Energy Policy Act of 2005 was a first step in the right direction, and we must take additional steps. It is because I believe we must take additional steps that I rise today in support of this amendment for energy independence and energy security. Our amendment will add about $3.5 billion to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs authorized in the bipartisan energy bill of last year; $500 million for the LIHEAP program to help low-income families heat their homes; it importantly extends the production tax credit and clean energy bonds for renewable energy. This is a fiscally responsible way of fulfilling our mandate to lead America to energy independence. In his State of the Union Address, we heard the President commit to replace 70 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by the year 2025. This is actually a modest goal. I am a member of a bipartisan group of Senators--six Republicans and six Democrats--that supports S. 2025, the Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act. That legislation would lead our country on a path to save 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by the year 2016, 7 million per day by 2026, and 10 million barrels per day by the year 2031.…”