Robin Carnahan: “It certainly is. And we have all had the stark awakening as we fill our tanks each week. I am reminded, as you were…”

“It certainly is. And we have all had the stark awakening as we fill our tanks each week. I am reminded, as you were talking about President Bush, in his State of the Union Address in this very Chamber, he told the Nation that our country was addicted to oil. He also said that this administration was committed to reducing our dependence on foreign oil. But then the very next day, the President's own Energy Secretary was back-pedaling on the President's promises. The President's solution in his budget was to end our dependence on foreign oil with just paltry, really crumbs, from our budget. Our budget is a document that sets our national priorities, and a mere $130 million was set aside for all, for all renewable energy programs. Not only is this increase in renewable energy programs insufficient, the President proposed to eliminate research on other renewables, including geothermal and hydropower. As reported in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in February, the total proposed increase in clean energy research is equal to just 7 percent of ExxonMobil's profit for the fourth quarter of 2005. So while big oil companies are recording record profits, the Bush administration is showing limited increases in funding for renewable energy. In fact, his budget would not get renewable energy efficiency back even to where it was at the end of the Clinton administration, this at a time when gas prices are squeezing the American families.…”