Conrad Unveils Bipartisan Energy Plan

 

Dear Friend, Soaring fuel prices have put a dent in family budgets in North Dakota and across the nation, forcing many of us to make tough and often unpleasant choices about where to spend our money. For too long, America has ignored her unhealthy addiction to foreign oil. The time for delay is over. We must take action and we must do it now. Six weeks ago, I helped organize a bipartisan coalition of 10 senators – five democrats and five republicans – tasked with trying to find compromise on an energy proposal to reduce gas prices, lessen our nation's dependence on foreign oil, and strengthen America's economy. After much debate we reached an agreement. The comprehensive New Energy Reform Act of 2008, - better known as "New Era" - lays the groundwork to transition the nation's motor vehicle fleets to fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes significant conservation provisions, consumer tax credits, and responsible measures to increase domestic production. Many details of my Five Point Plan to Lower Gas Prices were included in the bipartisan agreement, including: a greater emphasis on developing alternative fuel vehicles and improving fuel efficiency, incentives for the development and production of alternative fuels - including coal-to-liquid fuels - and increasing domestic production of oil and natural gas. I was proud to work with nine exceptional colleagues in crafting this agreement, including: Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). Together we have constructed a bipartisan, compromise outline that should serve as a guide for comprehensive energy legislation that will begin moving our country out of this crisis toward a more economically secure and environmentally friendly tomorrow. If you are interested in learning more about the 'New Era' energy plan and Congress' efforts to break the nation's addiction to foreign oil, please visit www.conrad.senate.gov. Sincerely, KENT CONRAD United States Senate You have received this e-mail because you have signed up for Transportaion Issue Updates. If you do not want to receive future updates, you can remove yourself from this mailing list by visiting my Web page at http://conrad.senate.gov/issues/signup.cfm. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to others who you think would be interested in this information. If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to sign up to receive future updates directly from me, please visit my Web page at http://conrad.senate.gov/issues/signup.cfm.