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With a strong bipartisan support, the House recently voted once again to enact an energy policy that will secure our energy needs now and in the future. This is the fifth time the House has passed an energy bill, and this year we must send a comprehensive energy plan to the President. In a poll conducted in January of this year by Dutko Worldwide, Americans were resounding in their support for a national energy plan. About 69 percent of those surveyed said the nation's energy policy needs to be changed. A national energy plan would help increase our domestic supply of energy, protect our environment for future generations and create jobs and stimulate the economy.
The United States depends on foreign sources of oil for 62 percent of our nation's supply and that is expected to increase to 75 percent by 2010. To reduce our dangerous dependence on unstable foreign oil, we must adopt an energy policy that increases our domestic supply of oil and natural gas. The Energy Policy Act, passed by the House, will allow new domestic oil and gas exploration and development on non-park federal lands. It requires five billion gallons of renewable fuel to be included in all gasoline sold in the U.S. by 2015 and it increases the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's capacity. It also streamlines the regulatory and approval process for the restart of idle refineries or the construction of new refineries. This legislation also encourages energy diversification by offering incentives to utilize alternate sources of energy.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes crucial energy conservation and environmental protection measures that will improve the quality of life for every American for decades to come. The energy bill initiates a state-of-the-art program to get hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the roads by 2020. This legislation authorizes funds for hydrogen and fuel cell research at $2.15 billion over five years. The energy bill also takes crucial steps toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions by offering financial incentives for energy companies to produce electricity from renewable and alternative fuels such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal agents. It increases funding for the Department of Transportation to continue its work on improving Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which set fuel emission standards for cars and light trucks sold in the United States.
Energy is vital to every sector of the U.S. economy. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 will help create hundreds of thousands of jobs in all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and technology while at the same time preventing the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs due to costs associated with high energy prices. One specific example of economic stimulus included in the bill is the royalty relief for deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Tapping into North America's abundant natural gas resources will help to reduce high utility bills, create jobs and provide more than $500 million of increased revenues for the U.S. economy.
Energy needs in the U.S. are growing twice as fast as energy production in the U.S. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 balances the growing discrepancy between consumption and production and ensures a more affordable and environmentally friendly energy supply. Now is the time to implement a new energy policy, waiting will cost Americans higher energy prices and a slower economy.
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