Transcript: America Needs a Long Term Energy Policy

Rep Salazar: “Here is what the President most recently said about energy policy—‘with 55 dollars a barrel for oil we do not need incentives for oil and gas companies. What we need is to put a strategy in place that will help this country over time to become less dependent on foreign oil.’

The bill that was put before congress doesn’t do what the President asked, it doesn’t meet the Presidents request for tax breaks for renewable energy. The President asked for more than 5 billion dollars in tax breaks for renewable energy sources, but this energy bill has only 6% of that. Instead of providing tax breaks to corporations that already have record profits, what we should be looking at is to really focus on long term fixes, like increasing production, and the use of renewable energies.

I am supporting the bill, the Fuel Security Act, which would increase the use of renewable fuels to 8 billion gallons by 2012. I am also pushing legislation that will provide tax breaks to farmers who dedicate some of their production for renewable energy crops, like ethanol and bio-diesel.

I have always said there are only two things that can bring this country down: Our dependence on foreign oil, and our dependence on another country to produce food. Agriculture is a backbone of this country. By increasing the use of renewable fuels such ethanol and bio-diesel and providing the department of energy with the budget to produce more energy efficient option, Agriculture can be the backbone of our energy supply as well.”