Bush Urges Development of Alternative Fuels-Needs ideas for reducing gas prices

President Bush today hailed biodiesel as "one of our nation’s most promising alternative fuel sources" as he stepped up pressure on a divided Senate to pass his energy bill.

He said the energy measure would reverse America’s fast-growing dependence on foreign oil. But he conceded, as he has in the past, that there was little he could do in the short term to drive down gasoline prices.

"I wish I could just wave a magic wand and lower the price at the pump," he said in a speech here. "That’s not how it works. You see, the high prices we face today have been decades in the making."

Bush addressed several hundred residents and workers assembled on a parking lot at the Virginia BioDiesel Refinery, a year-old firm that makes fuel from soybeans for use in diesel engines. Bush became the first president to visit a biodiesel plant, according to Jenna Higgins, a spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board in Jefferson City, Mo.

In touring Virginia Biodiesel, Bush sought to highlight an emerging fuel that is relatively clean-burning and has grown in production from 500,000 gallons a year in 1999 to 30 million last year - an increase that makes biodiesel the fastest growing alternative fuel in the country, according to the industry.

Today, about 500 major transportation fleets around the country use the fuel, including the National Park Service, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and Arlington County, Va., school buses.

"Biodiesel burns more completely and produces less air pollution than gasoline or regular diesel," Bush said. "Biodiesel also reduces engine wear, and produces almost no sulfur emissions, which makes it a good choice for cities and states working to meet strict air quality standards. And every time we use home-grown biodiesel, we support American farmers, not foreign oil producers."

Experts say biodiesel, which also can be made from recycled cooking grease, can be used in any vehicle that runs on regular diesel. But diesel engine vehicles have yet to catch on in the United States as they have in Western Europe, where nearly half of new passenger cars are diesel-powered. In the United States about 1% of cars runs on diesel fuel.

The biofuel, according to an industry official, can cost as much as 20 cents per gallon more than standard diesel fuel.

Citing a Department of Energy study, Bush said that if diesel vehicles made up 20% of all U.S. fleets, the country would save 350,000 barrels of oil daily - or "about a quarter of what we import every day from Venezuela."

The EPA says biodiesel releases less carbon monoxide and fewer hydrocarbons and particles than petroleum-based diesel.

In inveighing against the country’s growing reliance on foreign energy sources, the president noted that just 20 years ago, 75% of crude oil used in U.S. refineries came from American sources; today that figure is down to 35%.

"Our dependence on foreign oil is like a foreign tax on the American dream, and that tax is growing every year," Bush said.

He added that his administration is "doing all we can to ease the problem in the short run," such as encouraging oil-rich nations to increase production and monitoring for price-gouging here.

But such actions are no substitute for "an effective, common-sense energy strategy" that would "solve the problem in the long run," he said.

The president’s energy plan would offer new incentives to conserve fuel, open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and natural gas exploration, build refineries, foster "clean coal" use, promote other alternative fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen, and encourage nuclear power.

The House has approved Bush’s energy bill, which would mandate 5 billion gallons of renewable fuels in the nation’s gasoline supply by 2012. Senate leaders are writing their energy bill this week, and ethanol backers are pushing to set a standard of 8 billion gallons by 2012. Requiring greater use of fuel derived from corn, soy and farm products has enjoyed strong bipartisan support from farm-state lawmakers in Congress. Last year, the United States used 3.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel in the gas supply and is projected this year to use close to 4 billion gallons, said Monte Shaw of the Renewable Fuels Association.

"The Bush administration is much more engaged inside the Beltway this year on getting the energy bill passed, and we think that could make the difference," Shaw said.

But Democrats said Bush, a onetime Texas oilman, was not doing enough.

"No photo-op can hide the fact that the Bush energy plan gives 90% of its tax breaks to big oil and gas and other fossil fuels, and less than 10% to alternative sources of energy," said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). "That’s an 18th century strategy, not a 21st century plan. We must do better, and we can do better."

President Bush needs to look no further than his own House of Representatives for legislation to reduce gas prices....

On May 4, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and 33 cosponsors introduced the Gas Price Spike Act of 2005(H.R. 2070) in the House of Representatives .

"Mr. Speaker, as the summer peak driving period begins and as gas prices remain high, I am introducing legislation today to reduce the price of gasoline. The bill, The Gas Price Spike Act of 2005, is co-sponsored by 33 Members of Congress.

"The bill will address the spike in price of gasoline by placing a windfall profits tax on oil companies; giving tax credits for the purchase of ultra efficient vehicles; and provide federal grants to reduced mass transit fares.

"Consumers are being gouged at the gas pump. And, the only thing rising faster than the price of gasoline right now is the skyrocketing profits of the oil companies.

"Washington can no longer ignore this issue. High gas prices are eating away at consumer’s disposable income and could lead to a further economic downturn.

"The bill will:

* "Institute a windfall profit tax on gasoline and diesel. Such a tax is to be imposed on all industry profits that are above a reasonable profit level. This proposal would not increase the cost of gasoline because this proposal does not tax the price of gasoline. It only taxes excessive profits of refineries and distributors. Any attempt to increase prices to recover the lost revenue in taxes is simply taxed at 100% making the price increase worthless.
* "Transfer the revenue from the windfall profits tax to Americans who would buy ultra efficient cars, made in America, with a tax credit. These will be made directly available to the purchaser of a car that traveled over 65 miles on a single gallon of gas. Today average cars get less than 30 miles per gallon.
* "Establish a broad based, far reaching program to promote mass rail transit inter- an intra-city. The bill makes funding available to regional transit authorities to offset significantly reduced mass transit fares during times of gas price spikes.

"The co-sponsors are Reps. Serrano (D-NY), Abercrombie (D-HI), DeFazio (D-OR), Frank (D-MA), McDermott (D-WA), Solis (D-CA), Filner (D-CA), Carson (D-IN), Grijalva (D-AZ), Lantos (D-CA), Lee (D-CA), McGovern (D- MA), McKinney (D-GA), Woolsey (D-CA), Owens (D-NY), Strickland (D-OH), Conyers (D-MI), Davis (D-IL), Sanders (I-VT), Farr (D-CA), Hinchey (D- NY), Evans (D-IL), Nadler (D-NY), Kanjorski (D-PA), Sherman (D-CA), Lewis (D-GA), Gutierrez (D-IL), Visclosky (D-IN), Kildee (D-MI), Slaughter (D-NY), Kaptur (D-OH), Olver (D-MA), Stupak (D-MI)."

http://www.kucinich.us/floor_speech...