Wicker: Welcomes President's Proposals On Energy

Press Release

WICKER WELCOMES PRESIDENT'S PROPOSALS ON ENERGY

In his State of the Union address last week, President Bush outlined ambitious initiatives to help make America more energy independent. He correctly called our reliance on foreign energy sources a threat to economic and national security. I was encouraged by his commitment to keep this issue high on the national priority list.

A key provision in the plan involves doubling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as a protection against supply interruption. Mississippi could play a key role in this effort as a repository for millions of barrels of oil at the salt domes outside Richton.

With the price of gasoline at the pumps dropping below $2 per gallon, attention to energy matters may not seem as pressing to some Americans, but we must not lose sight of the danger this issue poses for our country. The President made that point in the speech, saying "America's energy dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes and to terrorists who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy."

CUTTING GASOLINE CONSUMPTION

The Bush energy initiatives are designed to reduce gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years. Called "Twenty In Ten," the package includes increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels and making automobiles and trucks more fuel efficient. In addition to doubling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the plan would also step up domestic oil and gas exploration.

Setting a mandatory fuel standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels to be used in vehicles represents a five-fold increase over current law. It would displace 15 percent of annual gasoline usage in the U.S. in 2017. Proposed changes to fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks could produce another five percent reduction in gasoline use over the next 10 years.

MORE DOMESTIC PRODUCTION

Increasing domestic oil and gas production must be an essential part of any energy plan. The President proposes to renew the effort to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a move that could generate one million barrels of oil per day. The vast majority of Alaskans support more exploration in ANWR. The plan would also promote incentives to boost refinery capacity.

Doubling SPR capacity to 1.5 billion barrels would provide 97 days of oil import protection in the event of a crisis. The SPR currently holds 691 million barrels, which represents only 55 days of protection. Agreement was reached in December to use the salt domes at Richton to enhance our national energy infrastructure. The facility is projected to hold 160 million barrels of crude oil.

BUILDING ON RECENT SUCCESSES

Significant progress has been made recently to strengthen our energy security, including enactment of legislation to increase domestic oil and gas production on the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Congress has already funded research to develop hybrid vehicles and boost production of ethanol and other biofuels. The comprehensive energy plan passed in 2004 promoted expanded use of clean coal technology, solar and wind energy, and nuclear power.

The Denver Post called the President's plan "audacious" and said it was a highlight of his remarks. I hope the attention generated by the speech and these wide-ranging proposals will provide momentum to build on what we have accomplished and spur Congressional action this year to meet this imposing challenge.

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