Energy Prices

Floor Speech

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, high energy prices are hurting individuals and families and businesses, particularly during these difficult economic times. While I support the measure before the Senate this week that would eliminate certain subsidies for the largest integrated oil companies and extend several clean energy tax incentives, the fact that we are not debating a bill to establish a long overdue national energy policy is a missed opportunity.

To better protect American consumers against fluctuating and escalating prices, we need a thoughtful and comprehensive energy policy for the 21st century that promotes greater efficiency, the development of viable alternative fuels, and the production of domestic energy sources, including oil and natural gas, wind, solar, biomass and others.

The rising costs of energy are burdensome to Maine families, truck drivers, farmers, fishermen, schools, small businesses, mills, and factories. Nearly 80 percent of the homes in our State rely on heating oil, leaving Maine families extremely vulnerable to rising crude oil prices. It is clear that we need a dramatic change in our energy policy to protect ourselves from rapid increases in oil prices without sacrificing our environment. We must rally around a national effort to achieve energy independence for our economic, environmental, and national security.

In the nearly 40 years since the 1973 oil embargo, numerous approaches aimed at lowering energy prices have been discussed, such as expediting the review of offshore drilling permits, opening new areas to oil and gas leasing, releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and promoting the development of domestic energy alternatives. The serious will to tackle a comprehensive policy, however, has been lacking.

If the United States is to become less susceptible to volatile global market situations that drive up the cost of heating and transportation fuel, we must decrease our dependence on foreign oil. To accomplish this goal, we must promote energy efficiency and develop viable and affordable domestic energy sources. I have worked to advance these goals by supporting legislation that would promote clean energy initiatives, such as accelerating research of plug-in hybrid technologies for heavy duty trucks, providing incentives for producing alternative fuels from biomass, improving the energy efficiency of cars and appliances, the deployment of deepwater offshore wind power, and expanding domestic production of oil and natural gas in areas approved for exploration.

We must seize every opportunity to use oil more efficiently. For example, the provisions I was able to include in the last Transportation Funding Bill to allow heavy trucks to use Maine's interstate highways instead of being forced on secondary roads and downtown streets will shorten travel distances significantly. The owner-operator of a logging business in Penobscot County told me this change will save him at least 118 gallons of fuel each week. At today's diesel prices, that's more than $500.

The current political turmoil in the Middle East and our reliance on oil from countries with which we have strained relations, such as Venezuela, remind us that decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and relying on domestic energy sources must be the cornerstone of our Nation's energy policy. For this reason, I have supported efforts to increase the responsible domestic production of oil and gas.

Our efforts to increase American production should first be focused on regions that are already open to gas and oil production. The many lessons learned from last year's oil spill disaster in the Gulf will help to ensure stricter safety regulations. I continue to believe, however, that we must also continue to avoid our most sensitive coastal areas and areas that are essential to our fishing industry, such as Georges Bank. Pursuing domestic oil and gas leasing and transport is an important component in reaching this goal, and I remain disappointed in the President's decision to deny the permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Canada is our Nation's largest trading partner, and construction of the pipeline would create thousands of jobs in our two nations and reduce our reliance on oil from overseas.

Finally, we must also continue to support important safety net programs, including providing adequate resources for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help low-income Mainers and senior citizens afford to heat their home. The Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps Mainers improve the efficiency of their homes and substantially reduce heating bills for the long-term, is another very important program.

I remain committed to working with my Senate colleagues to advance effective and commonsense energy legislation that increases America's supply of energy and decreases our demand for foreign oil. This will help us to achieve energy independence and stabilize gas and oil prices.

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