We should achieve independence from foreign oil within 10 years.

We need a comprehensive Energy Policy that uses multiple approaches. We need a portfolio of alternatives, with each alternative contributing to our energy independence. This portfolio should include:

• Conservation
• Increasing the fuel mileage targets for vehicles
• Research and infrastructure support for biofuels
• Clean coal gassification
• Increased support for wind power
• Increased use of natural gas

We should establish a National Strategic Goal of reducing the price of a barrel of oil to $30 a barrel or lower. Saudi Arabia controls 12% of global oil production, and they have been able to dictate the price of oil. The United States consumes 25% of the world’s energy. We should be able to dictate the price of oil as much as the Saudis. We should establish policies which encourage conservation that are tied to the global price of oil.

We should encourage conservation by:

• Re-engineering federal buildings to reduce government energy consumption
• Raising the CAFE standards
• Increased federal funding for mass transit
• Require disclosure of energy costs for new homes
• Tax incentives for energy conservation and use of mass transit

Our farmers are the most efficient farmers in the world. We should encourage research into biofuels, to include ethanol, bio-diesel, methane and other options. We should make the 6th District the focus for research into agricultural biotechnology, capitalizing on the biotech infrastructure centered around Fort Detrick and the agricultural areas nearby.

We should support research into coal gassification. Transforming coal into clean burning natural gas will enable us to replace imported oil with domestically produced energy.

We should support development of wind power. While we have seen some bird and bat kills associated with wind mills, that impact can be greatly reduced with proper location of wind mills. The Department of Natural Resources should conduct the research on bird migration patterns to provide the data for proper placement of windmills.

We should not drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We should build a natural gas pipeline that parallels the existing oil pipeline. This would have minimal environmental impact, and would enable us to capture natural gas that is currently being burnt as a waste product.

I have a plan

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