Political Quotes

“the American Energy Production Act of 2008 is being offered as an amendment to the flood insurance legislation before us today. I am an original cosponsor of the American Energy Production Act. The thrust of this legislation is expanding American energy supply through many different avenues. I view this amendment as an essential step forward in both addressing the short-term as well as the long-term American energy supplies. I also view this amendment as the right policy to deal with today's high price of energy. America needs to advance its energy policy, and this amendment deserves immediate consideration. There are many excellent provisions of the amendment that is before us. I am particularly interested in a provision to ramp up production of 6 billion gallons of fuel derived from coal. The provision would start with a mandate of 750 million gallons of alternative coal-to-liquid fuels and then ramp up by a similar amount over the following 7 years, beginning in year 2015. Analysts estimate this provision will result in a reduction in the amount of oil America is projected to import. Simply put, coal is an abundant, affordable, reliable, and secure source of energy. Coal can also be a clean energy source. These coal-to-liquid fuels would likely be used first by our military. The Department of Defense would be allowed to sign longer contracts for synthetic fuels. The duration of the contracts would be expanded from the current 5 years to 25 years.”