Dick Lugar: “our dependence on oil from the Middle East represents a grave national security threat. The events of September 11 have…”

“our dependence on oil from the Middle East represents a grave national security threat. The events of September 11 have underscored the urgency of moving forward on multiple fronts to improve our energy situation in the short term and achieve energy independence in the long term. I have long believed that renewable energy is a vital part of the solution. Renewables are essential to freeing ourselves and developing countries from growing dependence on oil imports from volatile regions of the world. They also help address climate change. This is why I have long supported increased funding for biomass, solar, and other renewable energy programs. Today I am proud to introduce with my colleagues a bipartisan agreement on provisions in the energy bill that would go far toward diminishing our Nation's dependence on oil imports. The proposal incorporates into the energy bill the Daschle-Lugar national renewable fuels standard legislation that Senator Daschle and I introduced in May of 2000. This proposal, like the legislation I introduced with Senator Daschle, would phase-out the use of MTBE, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, and increase the use of ethanol and biomass ethanol as the clean fuel additive to gasoline. Use of biofuels would nearly triple over the next decade. Fuel derived from biomass offers the most promising long-term approach to the problems of oil dependence.”