Kay Hagan: “I wish to speak about an amendment I am going to call up tomorrow, amendment No. 3995. I believe it is critical, this…”

“I wish to speak about an amendment I am going to call up tomorrow, amendment No. 3995. I believe it is critical, this amendment to our long-term national security. In August of 2011, the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and the Navy signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $170 million each to spur the production of advanced aviation and marine biofuels under the Defense Production Act. This joint memorandum of understanding requires substantial cost sharing from private industry of at least a 1-to-1 match. The main objective of this memorandum of understanding is to spur the construction or retrofit of commercial scale advanced biofuel refineries. These facilities will produce drop-in advanced biofuels meeting military specifications. They will be located in geographically diverse locations for ready market access, and will have no significant impact on the supply of agricultural commodities for the production of food. As the largest single consumer of fuel in the world, the Department of Defense uses approximately 120 million barrels of oil each year, spending over $17 billion in fiscal year 2011 on fuel. This dependency on a single source of energy leaves our military's readiness at risk. When the price of oil goes up $1, it costs the Navy an additional $30 million and the entire Department of Defense over $100 million.…”