Where I Stand

ENERGY 2.0

As I visit the counties and cities across Tennessee, the pain being inflicted on families at the gas pump is obvious. As Americans hurt, the oil industry enjoys billions in tax breaks that have been jealously protected by Senator Alexander and other Republicans. That is not just cynical - it is obscene.

We use too much electric power, and we have inflicted critical damage on the fragile atmosphere that surrounds our planet.

I am not promising Tennesseans a silver-bullet cure to our energy crisis. The problems are complex and were long in the making. They'll take time to solve and will require a wide array of energy sources, including renewables, sustainable sources like solar, biomass, wind and hydrogen. That, however, does not mean that we can abandon fossil fuels. Important energy sources like oil, natural gas, coal and even nuclear power should remain as options. With that, though, it is essential that we responsibly develop - and conserve - these resources. But, as a U.S. senator, I will pursue a long-term strategy to free us from the energy trap, based on some fundamental principles:

INNOVATION AND INDEPENDENCE

  • Reward the innovators who are developing alternatives to foreign oil, not the oil industry. Eliminate the $17 billion in tax breaks previously given to Big Oil companies and set those tax dollars aside in a trust fund to invest in renewable and efficient energy (ie., biofuel, electric vehicles and hybrid technology). Levy a windfall profit tax on the oil industry to help fill the trust fund. Since President Bush took office, the five biggest oil companies have made more than a half trillion dollars in profits.
  • Be smart as we develop alternative energy. In the rush to develop biofuels from sources like corn, don't pit food vs. fuel in a competition for farmland. It'll only make both more costly for the consumer. Instead, grow food grains on the best agricultural acreage and reserve the land that's unusable for food to grow cellulosic products such as corn stalks and switchgrass for ethanol. (Governor Phil Bredesen already has Tennessee involved in cellulosic research in Oak Ridge.)
  • Because alternatives cannot meet the bulk of our fuel needs, Detroit must build a better engine that uses less gas. Legislation passed last year requires every American automaker to obtain a fleetwide average of 35 mpg by 2020, but why not 40, 50 or even 55, eventually? We know electric-hybrid technology can reach in the neighborhood of 48 mpg already. In the nation that produced Henry Ford and Bill Gates, we can find a way.
  • Solar and wind power aren't just ways to reduce the amount of electricity we use; renewables have the potential to create a new layer of our American economy, producing jobs and offering struggling farmers new financial opportunities (despite the fact that Senator Alexander has actively discouraged the development of wind energy). And factories that produce components like wind turbines and solar panels can return jobs to Tennessee communities that have lost manufacturing plants. I strongly favor federal funding to encourage this "green-collar" industry.
  • Encourage more commercial transport by rail as a way to cut pollution and fuel consumption. More efficient use of the trucking industry will reduce pollution, use less fuel and make distribution and commerce more profitable. One example: Replace deadheading (making a delivery and returning with an empty truck) with rail transport.

CLEANER AND GREENER

  • It's no surprise to Tennesseans that the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1990, thanks to greenhouse gas pollution from carbon emissions. Stop arguing about whether the scientists know what they're talking about (they do), and launch an aggressive "efficiency offensive." We can get more power out of the energy we use by making our homes as well as our local, state and federal buildings more energy efficient. I favor incentives to encourage these efforts and reduce our society's collective "carbon footprint."
  • Open up the electricity grid to renewable power sources, and let competition bring down the price of power.
  • Expand the cap-and-trade policy by requiring more polluters to purchase pollution permits and eliminating exemptions. Let polluters pay for developing more renewables and making them part of the power grid. Cutting our carbon-based power production by at least 20 percent through the use of renewable energy sources is not an unreasonable goal.
  • Just as the need for gasoline will not go away, neither will the need for coal in producing electricity. But Washington must invest in finding better ways to burn coal cleanly. And while natural deposits are plentiful, I firmly oppose mining that damages an area's topography. For example, in Montana, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is reviving his state's clean coal push as a way to develop Montana coal on a massive scale to provide an alternative to oil.
  • Nuclear power is an option that we must consider. Other countries offers a models in successful and safe use of nuclear energy, and it would behoove American producers to study it. Safe disposal of nuclear waste is mandatory.

DRILLING AND DIPLOMACY

  • Find better, long-term answers than drilling for oil in pristine places such as the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Let's keep other options open, including offshore U.S. drilling.
  • With Fidel Castro on the political sunset, begin to renew economic relations with Cuba. I support legislation already in the pipeline to lift the embargo that prevents American companies from competing for Cuban oil just beyond the Florida Keys. Other nations are already drilling there, and it's time we get in on it.
  • Put pressure on our friends in OPEC - notably Saudi Arabia - to make more oil available. Tell them we will cut our oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by 50 percent unless they increase output, with the option to cut further if they don't comply. (Financial experts estimate this could save the average consumer 25 cents per gallon of purchased gas.)
  • Re-engage in global efforts to deal with climate change, and reclaim a position of moral leadership in the world. We can do this without bankrupting ourselves. We cannot take on the threat of global climate change alone. China is aggressively developing coal-fired power plants and could become the world's largest polluter by next year. They must be met with united global opposition.

DEBT AND THE DOLLAR

  • The federal budget deficit is poised to hit $400 billion, thanks to irresponsible spending, burgeoning government expansion and a war in Iraq costing us nearly $12 billion a month. We kid ourselves if we don't recognize that this kind of fiscal misbehavior has helped land us in the gas-price dilemma. Simply put, our dollar isn't worth what it was when President Bush took office, and that weak dollar won't buy as much oil as it once did.
  • Elect leaders with the discipline to balance the budget, pay down the debt and spend within our means. We know it can be done: After all, Bill Clinton handed over a budget surplus to George W. Bush when he took office. I will be a responsible steward of your tax dollars. Bank on it.
  • Reward the innovators who come up with smart energy solutions, and expect more good-paying American jobs in the process. Create tax incentives for American job creation and penalties for outsourcing jobs overseas. We can't fix the economy without more jobs. After all, if a Tennessee father of four loses his job and his adjustable mortgage just shot up to 12.5 percent, he won't be paying any income tax, and the federal government loses that revenue and goes in the red. Deficit spending will only keep the dollar on the skids. We've got to do better, and I'll see that we will.

As I said, it's not simple, and it won't be quick. But stand with me, and I will be steadfast in finding real long-term solutions. And we can create good-paying Tennessee jobs along the way.

Above all, we will refuse to leave our children and grandchildren dependent on foreign oil for their economic survival.

I Want to Hear from You!