Robin Carnahan: “the Senate is engaged in an important debate on our Nation's energy policy. America needs an energy policy that reduces…”

“the Senate is engaged in an important debate on our Nation's energy policy. America needs an energy policy that reduces our dependency on imported oil, one that increases our energy efficiency, promotes the use of renewable fuels, and encourages additional domestic production of fossil fuels. We need an energy policy for the 21st century--not a pipeline to the past. The bill the Senate is now considering is a good foundation for this debate. This legislation promises to increase our domestic natural gas supply dramatically. It improves energy efficiency standards. It requires that the Federal Government lead in using our natural resources more efficiently. To me, the most exciting aspect of this bill is that it encourages production and use of renewable fuels. One of the most promising of these is ethanol. By blending ethanol with gasoline, we can reduce our oil imports and we can reduce the environmental damage of vehicle emissions. This legislation lays out a plan for increasing the amount of ethanol Americans use, and I strongly support these provisions. As America struggles to meet its growing energy needs, ethanol provides extraordinary opportunities. This product is made from corn and, unlike fossil fuels, can be produced in abundance. The more ethanol we use to fuel our cars and trucks, the less oil we will need to import from hostile countries such as Iraq.”