Posted on 07/12/2008 9:46:46 AM PDT by mywifecallsmerobi
Dear Rob:
Thank you for contacting me. I am always glad to hear from you.
At a time when Americans are working harder to make ends meet, I share your concern about the high cost of gasoline. Iowans are paying record prices and it's creating a ripple effect throughout our economy and the problem only seems to be getting worse. These prices make living our daily lives a real challenge. I am fully committed to changing the course of America's energy policy - to transition America away from our crippling dependence on foreign sources of oil.
These debilitating prices are due in part to a sharp increase in demand over the last few years in places like China and India, an ever weakening dollar, and supply disruptions in volatile places like Nigeria and Iraq - these price pressures are forecast to get worse in the foreseeable future. It is clear that we must chart a new energy course for America - one that aggressively invests in new technologies and pursues energy efficiency that will derive more value from all of our energy resources. And, we must turn to renewable energy sources, a common-sense solution that will help wean us off of foreign oil, stimulate the rural economy, and improve environmental quality. This is a long-term commitment that requires participation at the individual, corporate, and governmental levels.
In recent weeks, there have been renewed calls to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling and to add more areas to the lands already available for drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) as a solution to high gas prices. But not only will this fail to decrease the cost of gas in the short-term, it does not address our very serious long-term energy needs. For that reason, I will continue to focus my efforts in Washington on a new national energy strategy. As you indicate in your letter, fossil fuels are absolutely an essential component of this energy infrastructure. I have supported and will continue to support appropriate steps to build our supply. I have repeatedly called for construction of the Alaska natural gas pipeline, and I voted for the energy bills in 2005 and 2007, which contained numerous incentives and provisions for the development of fossil fuels. But again, opening up ANWR and new areas of the OCS to drilling will simply not significantly decrease the price of gasoline or diesel, and does not address our very serious long-term energy situation. According to leading experts, opening ANWR or other regions like the OCS to drilling would have no significant effect on our dependence on foreign oil or on the price of gas at the pump. Indeed, estimates are that drilling in ANWR would produce only the equivalent of a six month supply of oil, starting 10 years from now and continuing over about a 20 year production period. The Energy Information Association forecasts that opening up ANWR would only decrease the cost of gas 1-4 cents at the pump and only after 10-20 years. Under the current GOP proposal on the table, no energy would be produced until 2017 and it would be 2030 before full production comes on line, and when it does, it would have a minimal impact on prices. What the GOP leadership fails to mention is that 79% of America's recoverable oil reserves are already currently open for drilling, that oil companies have not tapped millions of productive acres already open, and that the areas on the west and east coasts that could be important to drilling have no oil drilling infrastructure- no oil rigs, no pipelines to the shore, and no refineries at the end of those pipelines.
Opening up more areas to leasing will produce too little oil and only after 5 to 10 years or more - and there are no guarantees. There are more enduring options that can be developed just as quickly. In the same amount time, with the right investment and national energy plan, we could develop alternatives that improve efficiencies and create alternatives to secure our energy future. For example, based on the U.S.G.S. projections of the amount of oil in ANWR, an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards for vehicles by about 2 miles per gallon saves more oil than ANWR could ever provide. Plug-in hybrid vehicles could be widely available within 10 years, and they can both double efficiencies and derive the majority of their fuel from the electric grid which is increasingly supplied by clean wind or geothermal or solar power. We also expect significant and growing production of advanced biofuels made from dedicated biomass energy crops, forest materials, and municipal wastes within10 years. All of these approaches provide a much more enduring approach to addressing our oil dependence problem. These are solutions that will last.
As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee in the 107th Congress, I added the first-ever energy title into the Farm Bill and in the 2008 Farm Bill, I included a much more ambitious energy title that will invest in new technologies to help meet our nation's energy needs for years to come. The 2008 Farm Bill also closed the so-called "Enron loophole," and restored the critical authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to oversee and regulate the trading of futures contracts that affect the price of oil, gasoline and other energy products. I am now working to enact additional legislation that will further strengthen federal oversight and enforcement to keep energy markets fair, honest, and free of manipulation or price distortion. And I've backed legislation and Congressional oversight to make sure that the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have all the power they need -- and that they use it -- to prevent, root out and prosecute collusion, price-fixing or price manipulation in markets for gasoline or other petroleum products.
And last December, Congress we passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This bill increases our Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) focusing on advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, creating thousands of economic opportunities in our rural communities. It also sets high efficiency standards for our appliances, buildings and utilities and raises mileage standards for our cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon over the next 15 years. Again, it is important to note that by raising the fuel efficiency standards by just 2 mpg, we are saving more oil than would be produced by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Also, this bill invests heavily in carbon capture and storage methods, which will allow us to capture the greenhouse gases from our coal power plants and it creates safeguards for consumers against price gouging during national emergencies.
There is more that Congress can and should do. I strongly supported a debate about S. 3044, the Consumer First Energy Act of 2008, and am disappointed that this legislation failed to be considered on a party line vote. This Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to deny major oil producing companies a tax deduction on profits attributable to domestic production of oil, limit the ability of these companies to claim foreign tax credits, and would impose a 25% windfall profit tax on oil companies unless the invested the funds in renewable energy sources. The revenue raised from these actions would be placed in an Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund that would be used to expand the development of renewable energy sources.
Rest assured, I will continue to work on this vital issue to ensure that Iowans pay a fair price at the pump. In the meantime, there are many simple steps that individuals can take to reduce our gasoline bills. Inflating tires, combining trips whenever possible, driving with the speed limits and similar steps can all help to reduce miles or increase miles driven on a gallon of fuel.
As oil prices continue to reach all-time highs and political instability continues to threaten the security of our energy sources, it has become starkly clear that we need to change our energy policies and I am proud to support legislation that addresses this need. I am determined to secure our nation's energy future, and will do so in a way that does not put excessive oil company profits ahead of consumers, country, and common-sense policy.
Thank you again for your comments and sharing your frustration. Should you have any additional concerns regarding this matter, please feel free to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Tom Harkin United States Senator
What a joke!
Democrats are like a chorus of trained parrots:
“We can’t drill our way out of the energy crisis”.
Baloney! As soon as word got out that the US was going full bore for oil in ANWR, shale and coastal, the world market price of oil would immediately drop like a rock.
Yes, Harkin is a joke.
A bad one.
Another LibTard spouting the Pelousy/Reid Party line.
All of them should be tried for treason.
Oh, surprise, surprise! He supports the windfall profits tax. Of course he would, as that gives him and his buddies more money to spend. You'll note, however, that it doesn't help you and I at the pump one bit. But somehow, giving my money to Washington is somehow less evil than letting the oil companies, who actually produce oil, use the money to produce more oil.
Oh...and I loved the part where he tells you that the revenue from the taxes will be used to fund the Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund. Really? This is exactly the same thing they said when they passed the Alternative Fuels tax in 1973. The monies from that tax was supposed to be used for the gov't to develop alternative fuels. Oddly, no one seems to know where those billions of dollars went. My guess is Congressional home freezers.
Drilling might not lower prices right away but it will have a positive impact in the near future. The morons refuse to drill because it won’t lower the price overnight but they will wait an eternity for green alternatives that may never get results. I don’t know why we continue to elect scumbag politicians who refuse to do anything that’s in the best interest of the average American. They are all filthy traitors in my opinion.
The way to solve the problem is to throw people like Harkin out of Congress.
It is our only hope of stopping the hemorrhage. As bad as $4 a gallon gas seems, wait until that is doubled in the next year. We are paying $5 a gallon in many parts of California and expect it to get worse before it gets better.
Tom Harkin is an ass.
No, we need to change our elected representatives and replace the fools like Harken who are lining their pockets at our expense while forcing us into poverty with their absurd energy policies.
Dear Mr. XXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me regarding domestic oil production. I appreciate your thoughts and understand your concerns on this important issue.
I firmly believe that reducing our nation's oil dependence is the key to our nation's economic stability and our national security. With rapidly increasing oil prices, we need to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, now more than ever.
Due to the dramatic increase in gasoline prices over the past six months, many have called for increased oil drilling off our coasts, in the Gulf of Mexico , and in the Arctic Refuge as a way to alleviate the prices families, truckers, and farmers are paying at the pump.
Many experts agree, however, that we cannot drill our way out of this problem. U.S. demand for oil is about 25% of the world's supply, but our known oil reserves are about three percent of the world's oil resources.
Additionally, oil drilling in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past several years. From 2000 to 2006, the number of offshore oil wells nearly doubled from 3,000 to nearly 6,000. Despite this significant increase, the price of gasoline is at record levels and has continued to climb well beyond $4.00 per gallon.
Even the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has concluded that increased offshore drilling would have no significant impact on gasoline prices and any benefits would not occur before 2030.
Despite these facts, I believe that developing a comprehensive energy policy includes responsible domestic production. That is why I supported the landmark Energy Policy Act of 2005 to increase domestic oil production and refining capacity.
I believe, however, we should use our resources and time more wisely by investing in advanced vehicle technologies and supporting fuel alternatives such as ethanol and biodiesel. Recently, I introduced the Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act or DRIVE Act. This act offers a realistic, bipartisan solution that will reduce our dependence on oil by 2.5 million barrels a day by 2016 - the same amount we currently import from the Middle East . We accomplish this goal through a number of steps, including increased production of biofuels , tax credits, and more research and development into new alternative energy technologies.
I also believe that the Federal Government must play a leading role. That is why I recently introduced the Oil Savings Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Federal Government to create the first-ever, government-wide action plan to reduce oil consumption by 10,000,000 barrels per day by 2030.
I appreciate you sharing your views with me regarding domestic energy production. I remain committed to promoting an energy strategy that encourages investment in technologies that develop alternative sources of energy and allow more efficient use of current energy supplies. Please rest assured should further legislation regarding domestic oil production come before the full Senate during the 110 th Congress, I will keep your views in mind.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope that the information I have provided is helpful. My website, http://bayh.senate.gov, can provide additional details about legislation and state projects, and you can also sign up to receive my monthly e-newsletter, The Bayh Bulletin , by clicking on the link at the top of my homepage. I value your input and hope you will continue to keep me informed of the issues important to you.
Office of Senator Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623 Russell 463 Washington, D.C. 20510
“We need more fossil fuel but getting fossil fuel from proven reserves won’t help so I support more fossil fuel from unknown pie-in-the-sky sources.” - Tom Harkinized DNC talking points bulletin.
It sounds a lot like a Social Security scheme for oil. I expect the fund would be used the same way too. Divert the capital to everything but energy security.
I agree - but he is re-elected every 6 years by republican farmers addicted to farm subsidy handouts!!!
I agree - but he is re-elected every 6 years by republican farmers addicted to farm subsidy handouts!!!
I think he just told you to "talk to the hand".
Democraps are the Oracles of being wrong about everything!
“We can’t drill our way out of the energy crisis”.
Wonder why no one has ever asked a Democrap when they are hungry if they ever say "Feeding myself won't solve my hunder problem!"
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