IAGS / IEEE Forum, March 17, 2004

Forum on Oil Dependence and National Security:

Set America Free: a Blueprint for Energy Security

The Remarks of Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY)

Thank you Gal (Luft) for inviting me to speak today and for all of your excellent work at IAGS.  You should be proud of your devotion to a thoughtful, forward-thinking approach to America’s major energy questions.  I would also like to thank IEEE for co-hosting today’s event.

American energy policy is at a cross roads and our national security is being compromised daily by our dependence on foreign energy supplies – and more specifically oil.

Today, oil opened at approximately $57 per barrel – twice the amount of when President Bush took office.  Yet, Congress remains deadlocked and our nation’s energy security has suffered in turn.  Rather than stay mired in the same tired gridlock of the past, we must make the choice to move forward, even if it involves some hard choices.

It is long past the time that we recognize that it is simply dangerous for our country to continue importing increasing amounts of oil from nations which are unstable, anti-American, or have even provided assistance to terrorists.

By paying billions of dollars to oil rich sheikhdoms, such as Saudi Arabia, which have sent our petro-dollars to unsavory elements, we have perpetuated our addiction to oil while filling the coffers of those who have undermined our interests.

At the same time, demand for oil is increasing exponentially.  China, India, and other large developing nations are importing more and more oil every day to fuel their development and economic enterprises.  In the United States, that means more demand for roughly the same supplies.  Consumers experience this in the form of gasoline at $2 per barrel.

As long as demand for oil is increasing while supplies remain essentially the same, price will rise. 

Out-dated policies which would only extend out national love affair with oil have to end.

We have the technology and the resources to start on the long quest to restructure our energy sector.

More and more hybrid cars are taking to the roads every day, using less gas and pumping less pollutants into our air.

We know how to clean the emissions coming from smokestacks in the mid west. 

Wind turbines are popping up all over the country, representing the fastest growing sector of our energy portfolio.

We have a choice:  Our energy policy can remain metaphorically ‘frozen in the tundra of Alaska’, or we can take real steps to diversify our energy sources away from oil and take the giant leap toward a 21st century energy policy which the American people rightfully demand.

This is a long road, but one we must begin today.

In that vein, I would like to announce my strong endorsement of the “Set America Free” blueprint for U.S. Energy Security.

This wise proposal urges diversifying sources of energy, managing our inventory of petroleum in a more security conscious fashion, and making better use of energy efficient technologies, especially in transportation.

In the last Congress, I introduced a bill to encourage the production, development, and purchase of highly efficient vehicles, such as hybrids. 

The Set America Free project also suggests additional concepts, including the use of ultra-light materials in cars to decrease consumption, the use of flexible fuel vehicles, and movement toward plug-in hybrids. 

Big ideas such as these are not free.  They require a major national investment.  Set America Free estimates that their plan will cost $12 billion over the next four years. 

Yet, if this cost is compared to the amount we spend on oil or the amount we will save as a nation, I consider this cost low.  It is an investment in our future, our environment, and our security.

I am, therefore, also pleased to announce that I plan to work with my colleagues to establish a new bipartisan Congressional Caucus – the Oil and National Security Caucus.  This group will support ideas such as these.  We will recognize that diversification and greater efficiency are not only good for the environment and the economy, but they promote our security.  

I am also intrigued by the bi-partisan National Commission on Energy Policy’s report “Ending the Energy Stalemate”.  Their report, released in December 2004, is the product of 16 members with diverse expertise and affiliations, representing business, government, academia, and the non-profit community.

 The Commission’s work is designed to ensure affordable and reliable supplies of energy while responding to growing concerns about energy security.  Not every member of the Commission supported every idea, but the ideas as a package won broad consensus among the group.  With substantive debate over three years, the Commission attempted to break the deadlock by compromising on issues including enhancing oil security, increasing energy efficiency and developing energy technologies for the future. We can learn from their example.

This is not a perfect bill, but I plan to introduce it as legislation to demonstrate what can be done if we drop the partisanship, re-learn the art of legislative compromise, and get on with the business of the people.

Set America Free, while containing more specific and, at times, more aggressive proposals, stems from the same bipartisan spirit – that it is long past time to address the security dilemmas generated by our dependence on oil.

Thank you again for having me here today and please continue your good work.