Energy Future Coalition Media Release
May 19, 2005
For More Information, Contact:
Kalee Kreider, Fenton Communications 202-822-5200
Reid Detchon, Energy Future Coalition 202-463-8744
Diverse Leadership Coalition Calls for Steps to Reduce U.S. Oil Dependence:Next-Generation Ethanol, Biodiesel, Advanced Vehicles
Washington, D.C. – Today the Energy Future Coalition released a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 45 top national security, labor, and energy policy experts to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), Chair of the SenateEnergy Committee, which is currently marking up a major energy bill. The letter calls for action to increase U.S. national security by reducingdependence on foreign oil:
“The signatories, representing a broad range of political views, support a new national commitment: to reduce U.S. oil consumption substantially, through the accelerated introduction of advanced technology vehicles and alternative fuels. We believe domestic biofuels can cut the nations oil use by 25 percent by 2025, and substantial further reductions are possible through efficiency gains from advanced technologies. That is an ambitious goal, but it is also an extraordinary opportunity for American leadership, innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”
“Reducing our dependence on oil is both a national-security imperative anda major economic opportunity for America,” said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation and former U.S. Senator from Colorado.
“Oil dependence isn’t a problem just for Democrats or Republicans – it’s an American problem, requiring bipartisan cooperation and solutions,” said C.Boyden Gray, White House Counsel to President George H.W. Bush.
“What we need now is a coalition of tree huggers, do-gooders, sodbusters, and cheap hawks – people like me who want to reduce the leverage of Middle East countries, and win this long war on terrorism with as little shooting as possible,” said R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence.
Other principal signatories on the letter are: Robert McFarlane, National Security Advisor to President Reagan; Frank Gaffney, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense in the Reagan Administration; John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff to President Clinton; Richard Trumka, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO; and Charles Curtis, Deputy Secretary of Energy in the Clinton Administration.
Additional signatories include: Adm. William Crowe, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, for President Reagan; Adm. James Watkins, Secretary of Energy, and William Reilly, EPA Administrator, for President G.H.W. Bush; Gen. Richard Lawson, former President of the National Mining Association; LarrySchweiger, President of the National Wildlife Federation; former U.S. Sen.Gary Hart and former Congressmen Vic Fazio, Jim Greenwood, and Phil Sharp.
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Copies of the letter to Senator Domenici and signatories may be found at http://www.energyfuturecoalition.org
Technorati tags: energy, politics, United States
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