Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 11, 2005)

By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. VOINOVICH, and Mr. BOND):

S. 606. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to eliminate methyl tertiary butyl ether from the United States fuel supply, to increase production and use of renewable fuel, and to increase the Nation's energy independence, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last weekend I joined four of my colleagues to travel to Alaska, to see first-hand the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It's not a welcoming place--it's cold and icy; vast and empty . . . even the Caribou didn't notice our presence. But beneath the icy tundra is one of the largest oil fields in the world--an oil field so vast it could power the State of South Dakota for centuries.

This week the Senate is moving forward on legislation to explore ANWR. This is just one piece of finally passing a national energy policy and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil.

We cannot act fast enough: This week gas prices hit record highs. And with oil hovering around $55 per barrel and threatening to move even higher, it's critical that the Senate act to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources oil.

ANWR is one piece of the solution. But equally important--and even more important to my State of South Dakota--is investing in renewable fuels like ethanol.

It is time for the United States Senate to pass the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The Renewable Fuels Standard has languished for too long. Despite strong bipartisan support and private-sector agreements, past Congresses have failed to pass a national energy policy that includes a Renewable Fuels Standard. Now, we have another opportunity.

This legislation has a special importance to my State. South Dakota is a heavily agricultural State and the Nation's fifth largest producer of ethanol. The market for ethanol has breathed new life into the small towns and small farms that dot the prairies of South Dakota. When driving through the rural counties of South Dakota, it's not unusual to observe the silos and storage tanks of an ethanol plant silhouetted against the prairie horizon. In many ways, the ethanol industry and its physical manifestations have become a part of the rural American identity.

Make no mistake about it: South Dakota's farmers are relying on the passage of the Renewable Fuels Standard to provide a surge in corn prices and a guaranteed market for their product.

This legislation is an improvement upon what passed out of the United States Senate last Congress. It increases the ethanol gallon requirement to 6 billion gallons, an increase of 1 billion gallons.

As we have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to move this country forward. This legislation is vital to the ethanol industry, and will strengthen our economy, and our energy security. After so many failed attempts to pass this important legislation, I hope this Senate will finally finish the job and pass a Renewable Fuel Standard.

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