» Introduction
» 1. Terminate Purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
» 2. Extend Federal Regulation to Oil Futures
» 3. End Tax Breaks for Oil Companies and Direct Funds into Alternative Energy
» 4. Fully Fund and Restructure LIHEAP
» 5. Improve Energy Efficiency
» 6. Implement a Renewable Energy Standard
» 7. Cellulosic Ethanol and Renewable Fuels
» 8. Tidal, Geothermal, Solar, and Wind Energy
» 9. Vehicle Efficiency and Alternatives to Gasoline
» 10. Public Transportation
| Washington, DC
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2523
Augusta
68 Sewall Street, Room 507
Augusta, ME 04330
(207) 622-8414
Bangor
P.O. Box 655
202 Harlow Street, Room 204
Bangor, ME 04402
(207) 945-0417
Biddeford
160 Main Street
Biddeford, ME 04005
(207) 283-1101
Caribou
25 Sweden Street, Suite A
Caribou, ME 04736
(207) 493-7873
Lewiston
11 Lisbon Street
Lewiston, ME 04240
(207) 784-6969
Portland
One City Center, Stop 23
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 780-3575
| |  Introduction
Our nation's energy crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing America. Current record high energy prices affect almost every aspect of American's daily lives. At the same time, our nation is debating what to do about global climate change. It is clear that we need a dramatic change in our energy use to protect the nation from dramatic rises of the cost of energy and to protect our environment for future generations.
I have created a ten-point plan to get the nation started on this important effort. I announced this effort during a speech given on the Senate floor. To view the text of the speech: Click Here
| 1. Terminate Purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
While, numerous causes have contributed to the sharp rise in oil prices, I believe that the nation must be smarter in managing its oil supplies.
I do not believe that the nation should be filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) during times of high oil prices, as this only drives prices up further by taking oil off the market. I was joined by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan in passing a bipartisan amendment that directs the Department of Energy to by requiring the Department to avoid filling the SPR when prices are high. The Energy Information Administration has estimated that the impact on gas prices is between four and five cents a gallon. Other experts believe it is considerably higher. It is a bad deal for taxpayers for the Department of Energy to be purchasing oil when prices are so high. I have called on the President to stop filling the SPR until prices drop. It simply does not make sense for the Department of Energy to be purchasing oil for the Reserve at a time when oil prices exceed 100 dollars per barrel. The federal government is taking oil off the market and thus driving up prices at a time when consumers are struggling to pay their fuel bills.
| 2. Extend Federal Regulation to Oil Futures
Excessive speculation on futures markets may well be another factor pushing up oil prices. Unfortunately, there is a lack of publicly available data to track the effect of speculation on prices, and manipulation can go undetected on certain electronic markets that are unregulated. Experts testifying before our Investigations Subcommittee all agreed that greater transparency and better reporting of trades could help prevent abuses such as occurred in the natural gas markets in 2006. One witness noted, "the current high oil prices are inflated by as much as 100 percent... driven by excessive speculation." That is why I support expanding the authority of the federal government to provide greater regulation and transparency to guard against price manipulation.
| 3. End Tax Breaks for Oil Companies and Direct Funds into Alternative Energy
With net profits of a single oil company reaching almost 10 billion dollars in a single quarter, we should not expect taxpayers struggling to pay their bills to continue to subsidize the oil and gas industry. Congress should repeal unnecessary tax breaks for big oil companies and use the billions of dollars instead to fund the remaining proposals in my Ten-Point Energy Plan. I recently offered an amendment, which provided for the rescission of needless tax breaks for major oil companies. My proposal would redirect that revenue to support renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. My amendment was accepted as part of the Senate-passed Budget Resolution. We need to continue that momentum and quickly take up legislation to enact this proposal.
| 4. Fully Fund and Restructure LIHEAP
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, is a federal grant program that provides vital funding to help low-income and elderly citizens meet their home energy needs. Nationwide, over the last four years, the number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance increased by 26 percent from 4.6 million to about 5.8 million, but during this same period, federal funding increased by only 10 percent. The result is that the average grant actually declined from $349 to $305.. Since crude oil prices have soared from around $60 per barrel in August 2007 to over $100 per barrel today, a grant buys less fuel today than it would have just months ago. This large, rapid increase, combined with less LIHEAP funding available per family, imposes hardship on people who use home heating oil to heat their homes. Low-income families and senior citizens living on limited incomes in Maine and many other states faced a crisis in staying warm this winter. We must fully fund LIHEAP at $5.1 billion. For the long term, we also should explore changes to LIHEAP the make it more flexible to allow states to take a regional approach to low-income energy issues, or to better balance direct energy bill assistance with grants for longer-lasting energy efficiency improvements, such as winterizing the homes of low-income families.
| 5. Improve Energy Efficiency
The first long-term solution in my 10-Point Energy Plan is to make more efficient use of the energy we use to heat our homes and offices, power our lights, and run our automobiles. Last year, Congress enacted and the President signed an increase in fuel economy standards for automobiles that will save 1 million barrels of oil a day. This is a good start, but we can do even more. I have introduced legislation, S. 1554, which would double funding for the Department of Energy Weatherization Program, reaching 1.4 billion dollars by 2010. On average, weatherizing a home reduces heating bills by 31 percent and overall energy bills by 358 dollars per year. My bill also would provide predictable funding for the valuable Energy Star Program, which helps consumers buy energy efficient appliances. My energy legislation also includes an Energy Efficiency Performance Standard for utilities. This provision requires utilities to achieve energy efficiency improvements. Estimates note that an Energy Efficiency Performance Standard could save consumers 64 billion dollars in net savings, and avoid the need to build 400 power plants, preventing 320 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Making buildings, appliances and utilities more energy efficient can dramatically reduce our use of oil and save money for consumers at the same time.
| 6. Implement a Renewable Energy Standard
I believe we need a national renewable electricity standard which would require utilities to generate at least 15 percent, if not more than that, of their electricity from environmentally- sound renewable energy sources by the year 2020. This would boost the production of renewable energy, provide jobs in new industries, and, save an estimated 13 to 18 billion dollars on electricity and natural gas bills by 2030. It would move us away from reliance on coal and natural gas for electricity, and diversify our energy supply to provide more price stability. Twenty-eight states, including Maine, already have a renewable electricity standard. We should follow their lead and establish a national renewable electricity standard.
| 7. Cellulosic Ethanol and Renewable Fuels
We must insure that as we make these dramatic changes to our energy supply and infrastructure, we do not inadvertently cause more harm than good. That is why my comprehensive energy bill, S. 1554, expands existing tax credits for ethanol to include cellulosic biomass, but at the same time insures such fuels will have a smaller life cycle environmental footprint than traditional fuels. While there has been a great deal of focus on using corn-based ethanol in order to decrease our reliance upon foreign oil, there are other renewable, plant-based energy sources that are more environmentally friendly and have greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers at the University of Maine have been at the forefront of developing commercially-viable technologies to produce ethanol from cellulosic sources. Best of all, these bioproducts would leave a smaller, lighter ecological footprint.
| 8. Tidal, Geothermal, Solar, and Wind Energy
Other clean, renewable energy sources include the tides in ours oceans and the moderate temperatures under our land. The U.S. wave and tidal energy resource potential that reasonably could be harnessed is about 10 percent of national energy demand. In Maine, a consortium of the University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy and industry is positioned to become a key testbed site for tidal energy devices. However, tidal energy technologies are still much more costly than traditional electricity production. Thus, we need to invest research and development funding. This research will improve the technologies and make them cost competitive with other sources of renewable energy. The final portion of renewable energy supplies that I believe we must continue to promote is wind and solar energy. The tax incentives for renewable energy sources like wind and solar are set to expire at the end of this year. It is imperative that Congress pas an extension of these tax incentives to continue to provide an impetus for investments in these technologies.
| 9. Vehicle Efficiency and Alternatives to Gasoline
Gasoline used in transportation is 9.2 million barrels a day, almost half of our national consumption of 20 million barrels of oil each day. Currently, we import about 12 million barrels of oil a day. Reducing consumption of oil products for transportation purposes would go a long way toward reducing our reliance on foreign oil and decreasing overall energy prices for consumers. Flex fuel vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles can help meet this challenge. We should extend existing tax credits for alternative fuel vehicles, and consider providing a tax credit for consumers who modify their existing vehicles to be flex-fuel capable. Also, we should put more money into research plug-in hybrid vehicles, and consider expanded tax credits for these vehicles. Plug-in hybrid hold great promise – if all new vehicles added to the U.S. fleet for the next 10 years were plug-in hybrids, an additional 80 billion gallons (almost 2 billion barrels) of gasoline could be saved each year. Finally, as I proposed in S. 1554, we should repeal the phase-out of the tax credit for hybrid vehicles, which is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2010.
| 10. Public Transportation
Public transportation is one of the most effective ways we can get more passenger miles per gallon gasoline. My energy legislation would promote the development and use of public transportation by subsidizing fares, encouraging employers to assist their employees with fares, and authorizing funding to build energy-efficient and environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as clean buses and light rail.
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