Walz asks southern Minnesotans to help pass bi-partisan energy plan
"U.S. House"08/16/2008
(Worthington, MN) – Today, Congressman Walz visited Smith Trucking, where he met with truck fleet owners and operators from southwestern Minnesota who are members of the Minnesota Trucking Association. While at Smith Trucking—a family-owned, second generation trucking company—Walz and local truckers discussed how high fuel costs have affected the trucking industry, as well as the comprehensive energy bill Walz and the Bipartisan House Energy Working Group introduced in July.
“Businesses like Smith Trucking here in Worthington would benefit from the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act,” said Walz, a member of the House Bipartisan Energy Working Group that wrote the legislation. “This bill is the result of a growing bi-partisan coalition of lawmakers who put aside partisan bickering to find common-sense solutions that will speed up America’s transition to an energy independent future.”
Walz continued, “Truckers across the country are among those who are hardest hit by our current energy crisis. With higher fuel prices, they are forced to share the burden with consumers who are paying more than ever for school supplies, a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread.”
Earlier this summer, Walz joined a bipartisan energy working group to address the short-, medium- and long-term energy challenges facing our country. A few weeks ago, the 20 member group introduced the National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act, which currently has 119 cosponsors in the U.S. House. This legislation will provide immediate relief at the pump for consumers by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, expand drilling and increase domestic oil production, and use the royalties from expanded oil production to provide a reliable and significant source of new funding for renewable energy research and energy conservation. This new funding will allow America to speed up the development of next-generation renewable fuels.
It is estimated that there will be $2.6 trillion in royalties generated from the leases sold in the Outer Continental Shelf, with more than $1 trillion of that dedicated to conservation and renewable energy technologies. Of that, $390 billion is set aside for the creation of a Renewable Energy Reserve, which will be used to fund efforts to encourage the use of cleaner domestic energy resources and alternative fuels, promote the use of energy-efficient products, and increase research, development and deployment of clean renewable energy and efficiency technologies.